


𝕴𝖓 𝕷𝖔𝖛𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕸𝖚𝖗𝖉𝖊𝖗// 𝕳𝖆𝖓𝖓𝖎𝖌𝖗𝖆𝖒 𝕱𝖆𝖓𝖋𝖎𝖈𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓

by aestheticallyvampire



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hannibal (TV) Fusion, Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Gay, Hannibal Lecter Loves Will Graham, Hannibal Lecter is a Cannibal, Hannibal Lecter is the Chesapeake Ripper, Hannigram - Freeform, Horror, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Insanity, M/M, Murder, Murder Husbands, Psychological Horror, Religious Imagery & Symbolism, Will Graham Loves Hannibal Lecter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 05:40:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 24,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29255349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aestheticallyvampire/pseuds/aestheticallyvampire
Relationships: Will Graham & Hannibal Lecter
Comments: 1
Kudos: 1





	1. 𝕽𝖊𝖈𝖐𝖑𝖊𝖘𝖘

Will Graham was never considered normal.

Something about him was always different, and he was well aware of it.

Through many, many diagnoses it always became apparent that the early signs of mental illness were always lurking just beneath his skin, ready to emerge when they weren't needed.

His instability tore a pathway through him, like a terminal illness rips through a dying patient.

People had never filled the void of loneliness he felt deep in his soul, and he doubted that anyone ever would. Sure, having his dogs were nice, but at times he felt as though he needed somebody there who would love him unconditionally and consistently. It really just sounded like the description of a loyal dog.

He always did have a habit of collecting strays, or so he told everyone. 

However, on the opposite end of the spectrum, was Doctor Hannibal Lecter.

What could be said about the mysterious forensic psychiatrist?

He had an enigmatic aura surrounding him, like something was always lurking beneath his eyes, tucked away in the dark corners of his mind where nobody dared to enter. Past his professional attitude, he had a soft spot for Will, he always saw the grounds for friendship whenever he thought about him.

They instantly seemed to drawn to each other, and practically inseparable ever since they met.

But how much did Will actually know about Doctor Lecter?


	2. 𝕳𝖔𝖜 𝕬𝖗𝖊 𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝕱𝖊𝖊𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖌?

Autumn was a strange time of year. 

Things were cooling down and preparing for the frigid winter months, but the colours of the leaves provided a layer of mental warmth. As they crunched underfoot, it was a stark reminder that nothing lasts forever.

Well, for Will Graham at least.

Will and his six dogs would often take walks on the trails around his house in the warmer months. All the time they spent walking, his mind would often wander away from the backroad trail that he was on, all the way to the clean and sleek abode of Hannibal Lecter.

Everything just seemed so disjointed and unreal when Will spent time with Hannibal, and he considered him a friend, even though technically Hannibal was his therapist.

He often wondered what Hannibal thougth of their relationship, whether or not it was strictly a patient-doctor affair or whether or not it was exchange between two friends. Will sighed as a feeling of nescience filled his mind.

He knew he'd be seeing Hannibal later today, so maybe he would ask him then.

Will stopped walking and looked up through the foliage, the suns rays filtering through orange and red leaves to create an extravagant scene. This was his favourite track to walk, and as he watched his dogs playfully leap through the leaves, he couldn't help but smile. He loved his dogs, more than he loved most people, these bunch of strays felt like his family and his sense of security.

He's seen all of these dogs in various states, and to see them where they are now gave Will a reason to feel needed on this earth. 

Despite all of this, he felt as though something was internally missing, like something that was once there, was no longer there anymore. Will could never fully express his emotions properly to anybody else expect himself, it was always something that was hard for him to do.

Never mind all that, he was still enjoying this moment of his dogs frolicking in the autumn leaves.

•~•~•~

The time was 7.15 at night, and Dr. Hannibal Lecter was awaiting a particularly important client of his. He couldn't help but smile when he thought about the scruffy, dog-loving, temporary FBI agent who would be walking through the door in about 15 minutes or so.

He really couldn't put his finger on the emotion that he felt when he thought about Will Graham. It made him feel vulnerable and weak in the knees, but it also made him feel unstoppable, like how a raging fire engulfs everything in its path.

Hannibal would never fully admit his description of this feeling to any soul, living or dead. He certainly would never express this to Will, in the fear of being cut off from him altogether.

The therapist couldnt help but lean back into the soft leather chair and sigh. This little headspace he was in had only taken 2 minutes off of the wait time for Will Graham. Hannibal really didn't know what to do with himself.

Hannibal paced around the room and he looked at his assortment of books before sitting back in his chair. He even debated whether or not he checked the waiting room for Will, just in case he arrived earlier than he said he would.

He opened the door and, lo and behold, Will Graham was sitting there looking as anxious as Hannibal felt.

"Ah, Will, come in." Hannibal said with a smile as he held open the door.

Hannibal then closed the door behind Will and returned to his chair.

Will took a seat opposite Dr. Lecter's and sighed.

"How are you feeling today, Will?"

"Misplaced."

"How so?"

"Like I'm living in someone else's life, and the person I see in the mirror is just a stranger. Like I've been taken away from my usual instability. "

"That should be a good thing, shouldn't it?"

Will smiles and makes a weak laugh escape from his mouth.

"You'd imagine it would be, but it makes everything around me feel unstable. For once, it makes me feel like I'm not the one with the problem."

Hannibal smiles and looks at Will.

"Feels nice though, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess it does actually."


	3. 𝕻𝖊𝖔𝖕𝖑𝖊 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝖘𝖊𝖆𝖘𝖔𝖓𝖘

The autumn rain was falling outside as Will walked back to his car.

He clambered into the drivers seat, placing his hands on the outermost part of the steering wheel and resting his forehead against his hands. The pattering of the rain was almost as therapeutic as listening to Hannibal Lecter's voice, but it was beginning to slow down and eventually stop entirely.

There was so much more he could've said to Hannibal, but he always had a sinking feeling whenever he went to broach the subject of whether or not he was counted as one of Hannibal's patients, or if he were more than that, if he was classified as a friend of Hannibal's.

Will raised his head off of the steering wheel and started up his car, preparing himself for the 52 minute trip back home. Something about driving through the city at night, which melted away into the scenery of the country was oddly comforting to Will. It may have been down to the fact that he lived out in the middle of nowhere, and once he got back home he wouldn't have to interact with anyone or anything until the next day.

After all, he still had work the next day, which was obviously taxing for an empath such as himself. jack always wanted so much out of him, and even when he declined a workload it would still be given to him.

God, sometimes he wished that he could run away with someone and leave all of it behind, he just didn't know who would do it with him.

He did have some people in mind though.

As Will parked his car into the driveway, and got out of the car, he hard his dogs barking as they eagerly tried to see who was coming up of the little shack's stairs.

"Hey guys, yes, I know, I'm back." He cooed to the overexcited dogs as he unlocked the front door and let them outside for a little while. They bolted out of the door like a pack of wolves on the hunt, which gave Will a chance to get inside his house after a long day.

He hung his khaki coat onto the stand by the door and kicked off his shoes, leaving him to roam his house in socks before sighing and falling onto his bed as he blankly gazed up at the ceiling. It really felt as though he was looking at one part of the ceiling, but he couldn't tell which part, as if he was somehow watching the air in front of his face.

The first dog to wander back into the security of the house was Winston, who bumped his wet nose into Will's hand that was hanging off the side of the bed with a whimper. Will sat up to look at the mutt.

He gently cupped the sides of the dog's face, stroked his velvety ears and smiled.

The rest of his little pack of strays were close behind, all making various sounds as they entered the room as their little claws scraped along the living room floor. 

Will decided to get ready for bed, even though he had a sneaking suspicion that he wouldn't be getting much sleep, as the dogs all found their assorted beds and curled up besides the fireplace.

A scene played behind his eyes as he encased the room in darkness. He was outside a house, with Hannibal, drenched in blood with a corpse on ground before the pair. They could hear sirens in the distance and Hannibal loaded a gun, and pointed it to his own head and pulled the trigger as the police cars finally arrived on the scene. Things went in slow motion for Will before he bolted upright in his bed, doused in his own sweat and shaking like a leaf.

He glanced at the clock at it had just hit 4 in the morning. 

Why was he imagining this now? Why hadn't this happened before?

He rubbed the right side of his face and took in an uneven breath before getting up and having a drink of water, taking some in his hands and letting it run down his face. He hadn't had nightmares for a while now, and he couldn't help but wonder what the significance was of them recurring now.

Maybe it was because he was seeing Hannibal frequently, or maybe it was just his brain creating disturbing images all over again. He just didn't know, and he really didn't want to know for now 

He would search for answers when he was mentally capable for them.


	4. 𝕿𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘 𝕿𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝖂𝖊𝖗𝖊 𝕹𝖊𝖛𝖊𝖗 𝕾𝖆𝖎𝖉 𝖄𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗𝖉𝖆𝖞

"Will?"

Alana called from the outside of his house while she knocked on the door. He groggily go out of bed before responding and opening the door.

"Surprised to see you here."

"Jack isn't too impressed, you've missed all of the calls he's tried to reach you with," the psychiatrist studied Will with fears for his mental wellbeing. It wasn't like him to call Jack back, and she felt the pressure of guilt encasing her chest because she yelled at Will mere seconds ago.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, just slept in today."

Alana eyes him suspiciously as he avoided direct eye contact with her. She knew even if he was telling the truth, he still wouldn't look at her, but this personality-based avoidance of eye contact felt different to his usual atmosphere.

"Even if you weren't, you'd only tell Dr. Lecter, wouldn't you?"

Will sighed defeatedly and smiled at the doctor who was standing on his front porch.

"I think you know me a little too well in that sense, Dr. Bloom."

•~•~•~

Arriving at the crime scene late, Jack was quick to question Will's mental state.

"I needed you here an hour ago, what the hell were you doing?"

Will looked at the pavement as he avoided Jack's rageful stare. He got used to Jack's quick-to-trigger temper after a little while, but Will still didn't know what to look at while his boss roared at him.

Still, he kept up the conversation.

"Nothing you'd find important, what have we got today?"

As the pair turn to face the crime scene, Jack begins to give Will a quick run down of what the FBI know about the crime at hand.

"The two victims are Margaret Delano and Clay Pierce, they were reported missing about 3 days ago. He died from the very clear incision running the length of his torso and from estimated shock, but she died from getting her throat cut."

The nude bodies had been opened at the chest cavity, ribs holding onto nothing as the nooses around their necks made of their own intestines slowly rotated them in circles like two twisted ballerina's at their final show. The two victims were facing one another, holding hands as if they were at a form of wedding ceremony. The blood from the pair's eye sockets streamed down both of their faces, and created the effect that the victims were crying tears of blood. Their clothes were, for some reason, folded neatly at their feet, but doused in blood.

Looking at this never got easier for Will, but somebody had to save peoples lives, as Jack would often say.

"Everybody away!" Jack called to the crime scene workers as Will took his place in front of the hanging corpses. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, a pendulum of light swinging slowly in the darkness behind his eyes before the scene began to reverse from being filled with emergency services to a completely unassuming alleyway.

The couple walk down, smiling and laughing together as Will watches them. Margaret was dressed in a flowing white dress with a makeshift crown of flowers tangled into her hair, she was barefoot, and so too was her partner. Clay was wearing a dress shirt with a bowtie, and a pair of somewhat tidy black jeans.

It was apparent that the pair had eloped.

"I approach the couple, taking them by surprise," Will maddeningly smiles. "They don't know who I am, or where I'm from but they shouldn't have seen me in the first place. Still, I play the pleasant stranger card."

He smiles as he walked up to the couple, reaching into his pocket to pull out a knife, before lurching forward and holding Margaret hostage under the blade of the knife.

"After he watched me slash his bride's throat, the groom pleads helplessly, wishing that the one under the knife was himself, but nothing of the sort would happen tonight." 

Clay is on his knees, and Margaret is trying her best to claw out of the killer's grasp through her tears

Will draws the knife across the young woman's throat, she gasps as blood spills from the crimson etching, before he drops her to the floor to bleed out and convulse on the concrete. Her final moments would be those of fear, panic and pain. He'd deal with her in a minute, but for now his attention was on the groom of the newly deceased.

He pleaded with his killer for the last few moments of his life, before Will lunged forward and ended his life too.

"I stab Mr. Pierce in the sternum, dragging the blade downwards to just above the navel. All he can do is feel the cold steel drag through his chest. I do the same to Mrs. Pierce and begin creating my artwork."

Removing their intestines, he created a noose for each of them before splitting the ribcage in two and taking all of the edible organs. He then moved on to gouge out their eyes, making sure that the blood from the empty sockets fell how he wanted it to.

He bent their hands into place and hung them onto the tree like deranged Christmas ornaments.

Will stood back to admire his handiwork.

"This is my design."

Will rejoins the current time just as Jack walks back over, looking at the hanged couple.

"What are your thoughts on this, Mr. Graham?"

Will looked at Jack for a split second before avoiding his gaze. "It was a crime done out of love, maybe it's something that the killer wishes that he could have, but believes that he'll never find the perfect murder partner. The Bonnie to his Clyde."

"Do you think this is the Ripper, Will?"

"I know it is Jack."

Even though he had never met these two people in his life, he felt as though the Ripper was trying to catch Will's attention.

Maybe the Ripper was mocking him?

•~•~•~

"Are you concerned for me as your friend, or as your colleague, Bedelia?" Hannibal asked as he glanced around the well-kept living room of Bedelia Du Maurier, before fixing his attention onto her with his beady, almost blood-lusting eyes.

"I'm concerned on a doctor-patient basis Hannibal," she uttered as she studied Hannibal's face. She was surprised at how expressionless his gaze was. "It would be in your best interest to keep Will Graham as a close friend, instead of forming an unhealthy obsession."

"You don't really care about my best interests though, do you?"

"I care about your mental health, Hannibal, and the only thing I can see this leading to is you getting hurt. Are you seeing him tonight?"

"No," Hannibal lied. "He cancelled tonight's session with me when we met yesterday."

"Good, because I think you need to take a break from Will Graham for the next little while."

"But I'm his psychiatrist."

"You're also his friend, and now his obsessor."

Hannibal sighed. He wasn't about to argue with Bedelia because he knew how that would go down. The thought of being unable to see Will was a strange one, as the temporary agent was a prominent feature and a highlight in his day.

"What will he do for therapy?"

"I am more than capable of talking to him."

"He won't say a word to you. Do you realize this Bedelia?"

"Its more what he doesn't say that will change my feelings on things Hannibal."


	5. 𝕿𝖊𝖒𝖕𝖔𝖗𝖆𝖗𝖞 𝕾𝖊𝖕𝖆𝖗𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓

"As far as you can remember, for my safety and yours, this session between us never happened Will."

"What's happened?"

Hannibal sighs, and looks into Will's concerned eyes.

"Dr. Du Maurier suggested that I... give your therapy to her and that I take a break from you for a little while."

"So you're giving me a referral?"

"A very hesitant and heavy-hearted referral, nonetheless."

Will couldn't express this feeling that he felt weighing on his heart like a ton of bricks. He knew that only Hannibal could understand him, understand his ruined mind. He liked to imagine that Hannibal felt the same pain tugging on his heartstrings.

He knew that they would obviously still see each other, but this felt like the only time that he could word-vomit his emotions onto another human being. Hannibal had been there for him after he'd killed Garrett Jacob Hobbs and was having violent hallucinations. He normally didn't like having people poking around inside his head, but it didn't feel any different to just speaking aloud when he discussed everything happening to him with Hannibal. 

"Why?"

The one question Hannibal was hoping Will wouldn't ask, but he knew that he would. He really couldn't find the appropriate words to say in his extensive vocabulary. He felt like a goldfish, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to form a sentence that would make sense and wouldn't give away too much information.

"Even though I am possibly the only person tailored to your emotional needs, Dr. Du Maurier recommends for my own sanity, I open a new door for you, one with a more useful therapist."

"I thought our meetings were friendly discussions?"

"As did I, but occasionally things percieved from the outside do not reflect the inner contents," Will and Hannibal locked eyes. Will was able to see the pain behind Hannibal's normally cold gaze.

"So, since it will be our last meeting for a little while, what is it that you would like to discuss?"

Will often took his meetings with Hannibal for granted, and a strange fluttery feeling lay in his chest which was the tingle of inevitability. He knew deep down this wouldnt be permanent, but he did feel a twang of pain for the time he could have been talking to Hannibal he would lose.

"The newest case at work, it has me slightly puzzled."

"It's unlike you to be puzzled Will, what has got you to this point?"

"Well, it's that these two new victims are Ripper victims, I feel that energy, but it's the message he is trying to get across which has me second-guessing my judgment."

"What message is our killer trying to portray?"

Hannibal couldn't help but feel a pinch of pride under his skin as he discussed his murder and display of affection for the agent.

"Maybe the idea that he's looking for his ...murder partner. Like he no longer wants to kill alone, as though he wants the love of another human being, or just the attention of one at that."

"Do you think that it would be for someone who would be able to find it, like a first responder or FBI agent?"

Will thought about Hannibal's proposition and sighed. "Makes sense. The killer knew that nobody willing to report a dead body would travel down the alley, if it was for someone on the front line, it would make a whole lot of sense."

Hannibal watched Will with a smile, he liked to imagine the cogs turning in Will's mind that would create the breakthrough that he so desperately wanted on his cases.

This time though, would potentially be the last time discussing work matters with Will in a friendly matter which could be viewed as an ending patient-psychatrist relationship. 

Time changes all things, for the better and for the worse.


	6. 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕳𝖚𝖒𝖆𝖓 𝕻𝖘𝖞𝖈𝖍𝖊

We often take things for granted, only realising their true value until they have ceased to exist in our waking world and only exist in memories or dreams. For Hannibal Lecter, Will Graham was one of those things.

He knew he could go and see him any time he wanted to, but for once in his life, he decided that he would at least try to listen to Bedelia and see if that improved him for the better or worse. He obviously knew all the tricks in the book, but the worst thing you can possibly is try and be your own psychiatrist.

The doctor soon found himself drawing. Drawing things that he could see, such as the small, black, stag statue, whose stance was regal and confident. The stag looked to be bellowing, almost calling to something he had lost. Hannibal couldn't help but think of Will as he sketched the stag from an alternate angle, as though it was bellowing at him.

Something about deer and stags just reminded him of Will, it was probably the Garrett Jacob Hobbs case but he thought about the royalty, pride and majesty these animals exhibited without even trying. For some reason, they reminded him of Will. Yes, Hannibal was fully aware most of the population could look at Will and not see what he sees, all the normal person would see would be a sleep deprived man, but Hannibal saw the internal structure of Will. He was composed and knew more than he'd let on and in that sense, Will was just like a stag. It isn't an unintelligent animal, but it can still be mislead.

Just like Will Graham.

•~•~•~

The next day as Will was getting ready to go to work, he saw a figure with piercing blue eyes that raised the hairs on his arms. It stood at about 5'11" with two deer antlers on either side of its head, each with six prongs branching out of the main antler itself. Its skin was so black it seemed to engulf all the light surrounding it.

It stood and watched Will with its almost familiar face and tilted its head to one side when Will looked at it for a little while. He really didn't know what to do about this creature standing on his porch. He turned his back, and went to take a closer look, shortly to discover it had gone.

Will was now standing on his porch, in the cold, half dressed.

He was thinking about telling Hannibal until he remembered that he had therapy with Dr. Du Maurier, who he wasn't about to share the details of his hallucination to.

He felt as though he'd just been kicked in the soul, completely winded of all feelings.

For once he forgot about the grizzly murder currently being investigated at work, and about the experience he just had. The only thing he thought about was Hannibal, but only for a brief moment. Will finished getting dressed and grabbed his keys off of the table and set off to work.

It wasn't often that Will remembered things from his hallucinations, but the figure was a reoccurring idea in his brain. He zoned out at work and was called back to the world of the living by Jack calling his name.

"Will? Are you here?"

Will could only nod.

Jack stepped towards Will and studied him. He saw the sleep deprivation in his face and he knew something wasn't right. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I never said I was okay Jack, I only said I was still here."

Jack Crawford sighed and placed his hand gently on Will's shoulder.

"I need you here today, but if you're broken I can give you a pass just for today."

"Do you have anyone that does this better unbroken than I do broken?"

Jack sighed yet again and took his hand off of Will's shoulder. He was right, but he didn't want to admit it. He knew deep down that Will would eventually need a break, or else he would certainly cave in on himself but he also knew that there was no point in forcing Will to stay home because he would still show up anyway. You could slash his tires and he'd still probably walk to work.

Jack could only watch as the light behind his temporary agent's eyes burn out until it ceased to exist, and he was just a shell of him former self which hurt him more than it would probably hurt Will.

"If you need to see Dr. Lecter-"

"I wont see Dr. Lecter."

"It's your life, not mine. I'm just looking out for you."

"I'll keep it on my mind."

•~•~•~

Hannibal knew that Will would be meeting with Dr. Du Maurier shortly, since it was after work and it was nearing his old appointment time.

His mind wandered off to whether or not Will would say anything to her. He had the strange feeling that he would abstain from conversation with his new-found therapist.

He even wondered if Will was thinking about him too.

Will arrived at Dr. Du Maurier's place about 5 minutes early for his appointment and sat in his parked car. He really didn't want to be here, he wanted to be at home with his dogs or discussing his mindset with Hannibal, whom he really needed to stop thinking of.

The agent walked up to the door with a slight sinking feeling in his stomach as Bedelia opened the sleek, modern door to her household.

She gave Will a smile, which he didn't return as he stepped inside. He had a plan in his mind which was to do as little talking as possible. 

"So, how have you been lately Will?" 

"Fine thank you."

Bedelia could clearly see the despair behind his eyes, and the sleeplessness on his face. He looked as though he could understand nothing she said to him.

"Even a blind man could see that you aren't, Mr. Graham. I know you're going to be uncooperative with my best helpful attempts, so I may as well just talk at you, or sit in silence for the next.." 

She checked the clock.

"55 minutes. Which would you prefer?"

"If you really must know Bedelia, I would prefer not to be here."

"You would much rather be spending some time with Hannibal, if I'm not mistaken. While we're on the subject of Dr. Hannibal Lecter, when was the last time you saw him?"

Hannibal's words to Will at the beginning of their last session entered his mind.

"I saw him last week on a Thursday. I cancelled our session this Tuesday."

"How does it make you feel to be away from Hannibal?" Bedelia had an entirely different question in her mind, but she wasn't about to ask Will directly, she would slowly inch him towards asking it and act surprised when he finally burst it out.

"In a friendly way, or a patient-psychiatrist way?"

"Whichever way you perceive your relationship with Hannibal."

"I miss him in a friendly way, he's good company. He understands my mind and I could only wish to understand his."

Saying that to Bedelia made Will notice something about himself that he'd never seen before. He couldn't tell if it was circumstantial, but he physically felt a desire to lay eyes on Hannibal, to be in his presence and feel noticed by him.

He also couldn't tell if his growing attraction to Hannibal was circumstantial either.


	7. 𝕳𝖆𝖑𝖑𝖚𝖈𝖎𝖓𝖆𝖙𝖎𝖔𝖓𝖘 𝕬𝖓𝖉 𝕸𝖎𝖝𝖊𝖉 𝕱𝖊𝖊𝖑𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘

On his drive back to Wolf Trap, Virginia, Will couldn't help but brood over his seemingly growing romantic attraction to Hannibal.

He'd never been attracted to a man before, and he really didn't know what to think.

He could only hope that he wouldn't have to face Hannibal about all of this racing internal dialogue he was making for himself that was quickly getting out of hand. Will started to think about why he may be attracted to the tall, slightly enigmatic man.

Another piece of Will hoped that he would be able to tell Hannibal his true feelings for him. 

•~•~•~

On the other side of town, Hannibal was preparing to make dinner for Jack, Bella and himself. He was using his freshly-harvested meat from his latest artwork/ declaration of love to Will.

Tonight, dinner was 'Coratella con Carciofi', which is purple artichokes with "spring lambs" liver, heart and lungs. He hoped that Jack and Bella would enjoy it, and he had a sneaky suspicion that they would. Jack would always compliment Hannibal whenever he came over for dinner.

Hannibal opened the door with a pleasant smile towards Jack and Bella.

"Come in."

The pair walked through the house into the illustrious dining room where they took their respective seats, leaving the head of the table free for Hannibal to sit at.

He came from the kitchen carrying two plates on one arm, and one in the other. 

"Tonight's dish, Cortella con Carciofi. It is purple artichokes with spring lambs liver, heart and lungs. Enjoy"

Bella smiles as Hannibal places the plate in front of her, he smiles back. As he moves backward, he inhales ever so slightly through his nose, picking up the rotting fish nausea-enducing smell of cancer, buried beneath her fragant, Jar Bolt Of Lightning perfume.

He doesn't think that she noticed, and he didn't want to say anything to her so he decided to cover up what his new-found knowledge.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is your first time dining in my home, isn't it Bella?"

"Yes, this is Dr. Lecter. It looks wonderful. Jack's told me a lot about you and your cooking."

"All good things I hope."

"Of course."

The trio smiled at one another as Hannibal took his place at the head of the table. The illusion of dominance and power over the others at the table was apparent as they all sat and ate in a comfortable silence.

"Dr. Lecter you've outdone yourself this time."

"I don't feel as though I have Jack."

"Oh come on, don't be modest. This is the best meal I've ever had." Bella uttered with a smile as she backed up her husband's opinion.

Hannibal felt the tingle of pride in his fingertips as Jack complimented his cooking.

"Well, as I always say, it is a pleasure to have an old friend for dinner," he raised his glass to make a toast.

"To good friends."

"And good food." Jack added with a grin as the glasses clinked together.

After the toast, Hannibal withdrew the wine glass, gently swirled the crimson red wine around the glass and smelt it delicately before taking a sip and placing the glass back onto its place on the table.

He wondered if Jack knew about the cancer that was eating away at his wife until her more-than-likely death.

•~•~•~

Will awoke at around 4 o'clock in the morning, drenched in his own sweat.

The thin grey t-shirt stuck to his skin like glue, and his dogs looked up at him with whines of concern. His breathing was uneven and he couldn't think properly. 

What had happened in his dream?

An image of the humanoid deer figure from earlier in the day flashed through his mind, one of its hands outstretched to grab Will and take him away to some unknown place.

He still couldn't put his finger on who the figure looked like and he wished he could discuss this reoccurring figure with Hannibal. Will got the strangest feeling creep over him.

Hannibal?

That's who the figure looked like, it dawned on him as he saw the figure's icy blue eyes and slightly sunken facial features shot through his mind.

He couldn't help but wonder why this tormentor looked so much like his friend/ psychiatrist. Maybe it was his doing?

Will didn't want to believe that, so he chose not to. Sometimes it's best to shut out the bad things about someone before you start being unable to stop looking at them in that light.

Selective vision was something everyone had from time to time, and sometimes it was for the worst.


	8. 𝕱𝖔𝖑𝖎𝖊 À 𝕯𝖊𝖚𝖝

The days passed quickly for Will and Hannibal, the mundane was unbearable and neither of them knew what to do with themselves. A whole week had wasted away. Hannibal was listening to his therapist's advice but something within himself ached for Will. 

He needed to see him again, and he intended to see him later on today. 

Hannibal's plan would only work if Will was actually at home, if his assumption was off he could just feed Will's dogs and breathe in the scent of his awful aftershave.

Little did he know, Will was having the same train of thought as Hannibal.

•~•~•~

Will hated the fact that the case he and the FBI were trying to solve ended up being thrown into the 'Chesapeake Ripper's Crimes' folder.

He wanted to bring the families of the dead some closure on what had happened to their loved ones.

He wanted to be able to feel the lingering ball-and-chain of guilt suddenly smash into thousands of pieces and never bother him again. 

Will somehow always felt moderately connected to the Ripper, as though he'd met him before or passed him on the road. The thought of interacting with this harsh killer made his skin crawl.

The connection could also be due to his strange empathy condition.

This was his time of wondering, just after "solving" a case and sitting back in his lecture hall trying to review evidence until he eventually lost time staring at the screen blankly.

Jack Crawford would often worry about Will as he watched him in the wings of the lecture theater. He noticed that Will would often go blank for periods of time before seemingly picking up where he left off. It was as though he didn't realise that he left the current world.

As Jack approached, Will found himself slightly panicking. He didn't remember what he was doing and he really hopef as though he looked like he was busy.

"Late night tonight Will?"

"Just preparing for tomorrow's lecture."

It was 11.35 at night, Jack thought to himself. Still, he smiled at the clearly mentally ill man.

"Well, I suggest you go home and get some sleep then."

Will packed his things and headed out to his car.

•~•~•~

Hannibal waited.

Hannibal waited for Will to come home for at least two hours.

He thought that Will would've just had a late night at work, but when he didn't come back he felt a small stab in his chest.

The doctor got back into his car and began heading back to Baltimore, he was halfway there when he saw a very familiar car that belonged to the one and only Will Graham.

Will also noticed Hannibal's car too, the pair both slowing to a stop on their respective sides of the narrow road. He felt surprisingly happy to see him again.

The pair got out of their cars and walked towards each other, meeting again, the only thing that was separating them were the faint white road markings which severed the road in half.

"Hello again Will."

"Hello Hannibal."

Will could see a glimmer behind Hannibal's eyes and he couldn't tell if was happiness or if it was another emotion all together.

The seemingly random fact about holding eye contact for more than 6 seconds that reveals a desire for either murder or sexual intimacy flashed into Will's mind briefly as he smiled at Hannibal.

He really couldn't tell which meaning his eye contact with Hannibal portrayed.

"How long has it been since we last interacted?"

Will thought for a minute.

"About a week, give or take."

"Well, this past week has felt odd without your presence Will."

•~•~•~

Will almost forgot about his meeting with Bedelia the following day, he showed up about 4 minutes late and was forgiven by her for his tardiness.

Their hour long session was almost over, but Will had one more question to ask of his temporary therapist.

"May I ask one more question Bedelia?"

"Certainely, although it is beginning to feel like I'm the patient here." She added with a laugh.

Will took a deep breath inwards and slowly exhaled.

"Is Hannibal.. in love with me?"

Bedelia was going to quote the motto of 'doctor-patient confidentiality' but she thought that Will deserves an answer to his question.

"Could he daily feel a stab of hunger and find nourishment at the very sight of you? Yes. But do you ache for him?"

Will held his hands together to hide their shaking, but it came through in his voice.

"Of course I do."


	9. 𝕴𝖙'𝖘 𝖄𝖔𝖚 𝕿𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝕴 𝕷𝖎𝖊 𝖂𝖎𝖙𝖍

Will couldn't focus on anything all day.

He knew he had to go and see Hannibal and tell him exactly how he felt about him.

Jack had noticed Will's jitters and decided to intervene after his lecture. He waited for all of the agents in training to slowly filter from the room before stepping in to talk.

"Are you sure you don't need to see Dr. Lecter, Will?"

"If it's going to help you sleep, I've scheduled an appointment with him tonight."

"And you said that therapy didn't work on you." 

Jack had mixed feelings about Will seeing Dr. Lecter, on one hand it seemed like he was helping Will, but ever since he had begun seeing him, he would blank out for periods of time and would often be paranoid or see things that weren't there.

He knew that he couldn't comment on Lecter's therapy as he wasn't psychologically trained himself, but something within him told him that he should find a more appropriate fit for Will's mental state.

Then again, Will probably wouldn't discuss his inner workings with anybody else on the planet.

•~•~•~

Will called Hannibal and asked him if he could come over to see him, and possibly have dinner with him. 

Hannibal was delighted and was happy to finally be able to cook for Will. The pair dined at the relatively early hour of 8pm. Hannibal decided to question Will during dinner.

The conversation started as banter, and took a sharp turn when only the pairs empty plates were left on the table.

"What sprung your sudden urge to see me, Will?"

"I.. I'm not quite too sure."

"You seem flustered, is everything okay?"

"Yes, yes of course."

Will felt a lump in his throat, and he couldn't help but feel as though Hannibal could see right through him.

"I can tell when something is troubling you Will, are you going to tell me, or bottle it up?"

"I would tell you, but my vocabulary seems limited at the moment."

"Did you discover something about me while Bedelia was your therapist?"

"I.. did."

"And..?"

Will inhaled and exhaled deeply. "Do you really see something worth loving about me?"

Hannibal smirked. "Very much so. Your compassion is admirable and I enjoy your company. All things aside I do feel as though we could take this relationship down a lovers route."

Will laughed nervously and Hannibal's heart was racing in his chest.

"I was thinking the same thing." Will breathlessly admitted. 

Neither of the men could tell if they were dreaming or in the physical world, but neither of them knew what to do now.

"They do say absense makes the heart grow fonder," Hannibal said getting out of his chair. Will honestly thought he was taking his plate in usual Hannibal fashion.

Instead he placed his index finger under Will's chin, and guided his face to look up at him.

"Should we put that to the test?"

Will couldn't do anything but nod slightly. He felt so captivated by Hannibal, but still he stood up and Hannibal cupped his face and pulled him in for a kiss.

Things were slowly falling into place as Hannibal held Will the way that he always wanted to. He breathed in this feeling and let it take its course through his veins and electrify every inch of muscle.

He could feel Will and himself begin to blur into a strange masterpiece.

He'd never felt this way before with anybody else, he was thriving off of pure ecstasy in these moments as he and his lover created their own sort of long-overdue chaos. Sinful felt to be too kind of a word to use in Will's mind for this enthralling act. 

Hannibal somehow already knew how to strike the perfect chords and create a melody that only he and Will would understand. Nothing felt real between the king-sized fitted sheets of Hannibal Lecter's bed.

•~•~•~

Hannibal awoke well before Will, and couldn't help but smile.

The sleeping outline of Will Graham made Hannibal have a flutter of happiness as he watched the rising and falling of the blankets beside him.

He checked the time, it was 9.35.

He would've gotten out of bed, but he really didn't want to disturb the sleeping figure beside him.

There was a rather loud and aggressive knock at the front door, which woke Will up. He rolled over to his left to see Hannibal putting on a red v-neck sweater and heading to answer the door. God he loved looking at Hannibal's collarbones.

Will didn't really hear the rest of the conversation, but he knew that Jack was speaking to Hannibal about something. He took notice of the conversation when Jack asked: "Is there anybody in the house that can prove you were here all night?"

Will pulled on some of his own clothes and walked out of the door to be Hannibal's alibi.

Jack's eyes nearly fell out of his head and he tried to brush it off.

"I was here with Hannibal all night, Jack."


	10. 𝕿𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘 𝕿𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝕮𝖆𝖓𝖓𝖔𝖙 𝕭𝖊 𝖀𝖓𝖘𝖊𝖊𝖓

The word of Hannibal and Will's night together was spread around like confetti through the FBI offices. Some people thought it was nothing more than a rumour, but others believed it fully.

It didn't help that Freddie Lounds had gotten a hold of the hot gossip.

Either way, it didn't stop people watching Will as he walked through the corridors to get to his next lecture. The strangest thing about it was that Will didn't even feel bad about it.

Later in the day, Jack called Will into his office.

"Close the door." Jack said as Will entered the room. He gently closed the frosted-glass door, walked further into the office and sat down in a chair. 

"I wasn't going to tell you anything, but we're currently doing an investigation on Hannibal."

"Well you made that violently obvious when you showed up at his house at 9.35 in the morning."

"I do have a queston for you though, Will and I think I already know the answer,"

Will held his hands together under the table, still avoiding eye contact with Jack.

"Did you sleep with Hannibal?"

"Before I answer your question Jack, I would like to know what it is that you're investigating Hannibal for."

"That's confidential, even for you Will."

"Well I guess you won't know the answer to your original question then."

•~•~•~

After his meeting with Jack Crawford, Will made his way to his lecture hall. It was empty except for the petite-bodied Beverly Katz standing in the centre of the room with her arms crossed over her chest.

"Did Jack tell you why we're investigating Hannibal?"

"He just told me that it was confidential, but only for me."

"Probably because you two are ...close."

Will sighs and sits at his desk, opening his computer and logging in. Beverly leans against his desk, peeking just over the top of his laptop as she speaks again.

"Look, you didn't hear this from me, but Hannibal is being investigated for murder, well quite a few murders. Jack seems to have a hunch that he's the Ripper." 

"Bit of a bombshell to drop onto someone, isn't it?"

"Yea, but I guess it's better that you knew. I wouldn't want to see your body in the morgue."

Will didn't know how to react to that last comment of hers, so he just didn't say anything until she walked away. He did feel a pang of guilt though, as she was only looking out for him.

While Will worked, he remembered that he remembered he still had his appointment with Bedelia booked in for later on today. For some reason his mind told him that he was seeing Hannibal later on today, but it wasn't the case.

Unless he went to see him after he saw Bedelia.

•~•~•~

"Please tell me that the Tattler is wrong Will." Bedelia pleaded as she sat on her chair, looking up at him with her blue eyes sparkling.

"It is, but may I ask why you assumed it was correct?"

Hopefully she didn't see through this obvious lie.

"Well, on your last visit you had asked whether or not Hannibal was in love with you. Now, you wouldn't ask that question unless you were thinking of Hannibal in an affectionate way as well."

"Maybe I was just curious."

"Curious enough to sleep with him?"

"I didn't sleep with him, I wouldn't even think of it."

Bedelia smirked. "I know when you're lying Will."

"You don't know me at all."

"The dilation of your pupils suggests otherwise."

•~•~•~

Hannibal and Will's next interaction wasn't awkward. It was rather polite. They were alone in Hannibal's house on the couch together. Nothing too interesting, just sitting beside each other not sure what to do with themselves.

Will put his head into the crook of Hannibal's neck and let out a small sigh. This was comforting for the both of them.

Neither of them were quite sure how or why they both suddenly decided they were together after confessing and expressing their love to each other, they just were.

Hannibal couldn't help but smile and rest his head atop of Will's. He closed his eyes and took two steady breaths, he was content. The majority of the scent in the room that he could smell was his partner's awful aftershave and the slight smell of dog that Will carried around with him.

He would love to meet all of Will's dogs properly, instead of hearing Will gush over how good they are, he loved to watch his eyes light up as he talked of them.

"I have a feeling you were the centre of attention at work today Will."

"Don't remind me."

"Did Jack Crawford leave you alone about it?"

"No. He said you're being investigated though."

"Do you know what for?"

"No."

"Would you like to know now or much later?"

"Now please."

"The FBI seem to think that I'm the Chesapeake Ripper."

"Are you though?"

Hannibal had to seriously think about what he said next. Did he tell Will his secret, or did he hold it inside? He knew that if Will knew, he wouldn't tell Jack. But he felt as though Jack would find out, one way or another.

He really didn't want to lose Will though. He didn't want to lose Will as a lover or even an acquaintance, still he threw caution to the wind and sighed.

"Yes, I am."


	11. 𝖀𝖓𝖈𝖊𝖗𝖙𝖆𝖎𝖓𝖙𝖞

Will froze both mentally and physically.

Was Hannibal being serious about this? He had a faint hope that Hannibal was joking, and didn't mean what he just said. 

Was he in love with a murderer? 

Will took his head off of Hannibal and looked deep into his eyes, his voice broke as he spoke. 

"Please tell me you're joking." 

"I'm so sorry Will, I really wish that I was." 

Hannibal felt a weight come off his shoulders, which was soon replaced with a feeling of panic as Will lifted himself off of the couch. It seemed as though his world had stopped turning. 

The temporary agent paced around the room silently, with a look of grave concern on his face. He looked at Hannibal occasionally, and he knew that his unnerving silence was scaring him. 

"Were you planning to eat me as well, like you did to the others?" 

"No. I wouldn't dream of it."

Will couldn't stop the shaking in his hands as the gravity of this situation fell onto him like a ton of bricks. In a last attempt to get him to sit back down, Hannibal uttered a phrase he never thought he ever would. 

"I truly love you though Will. No matter you decide to do with your new-found information."

Those words nearly broke Will, and he had never felt so conflicted in his life.

He felt as though he needed to tell Jack, the criminal that had been evading capture for the past age was right here in Baltimore, and he'd had dinner with him on multiple occasions, but in the same sense, he liked what he had with Hannibal and he needed him in his life as a partner and someone he could trust. He needed to stay on Hannibal's good side.

His empathy also put himself into a sticky situation. The position of having himself spill something like that onto someone else, burdening them with the curse of knowledge.

Every decision was painful for Will, but strangely enough, his feelings for Hannibal never faltered 

"I'll keep your secret, Hannibal."

"I knew I could trust you Will." Hannibal uttered with a smile as he motioned for Will to take a seat on the couch again.

Will took a seat bedside Hannibal and forced a smile onto his lips.

•~•~•~

Thinking about the Chesapeake Ripper kept Jack Crawford up at night. He knew he should be sleeping for the sake of his work at the FBI, but something wouldn't leave him alone about it. 

He kept having this feeling that he's met the Ripper, held a conversation even. 

Bella always told him to go to sleep and brush it off, but it irked him to know that he couldn't act on this feeling of knowing the Ripper personally.

Another thing he couldn't shake was the idea that Will was somehow connected to, or was, the Ripper. He fits the description of a mentally unstable white male, lives alone and could easily dispose of evidence.

God he hoped that wasn't true.

•~•~•~

Will stayed at Hannibal's for the night. Nothing romantic happened between the pair, the only reason for he was still there was the fact he couldn't be assed driving all the way home to Wolftrap with the weather like it was, and the time of night that it was.

Hannibal woke up holding Will, so he was happy either way and neither of them wanted to go to work.

Will had to admit, this was quite nice as he watched the small dust particles dance in the morning sunlight through the small gap between the thick curtains.

It was now for some reason he wondered what would've happened if he got to the Hobbs household a split second earlier then he did on that faithful day. Maybe then Abigail could've lived. All he could see was the slow decrease in the heart rate monitor every day, as it became apparent that she would never wake up again.

"Will?" Hannibal called, bringing him back.

"Yes?"

"I asked you if you'd like some coffee."

"Do we have time for coffee?"

"Always."

As he lay in Hannibal's bed, he looked up to the ceiling as he listened to the sound of receding footsteps. Last night's conversation was still fresh in his mind, and he couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if he called Jack last night and told him of the Ripper situation.

Maybe he wouldn't be alive to think about a different series of events.

The silence felt dangerous now, and he couldn't help but feel as though Hannibal was monitoring his every move. His demeanor never changed though, and Will felt as though Hannibal was convinced that he wouldn't rat him out to Jack.

How long could he keep this secret for though?


	12. 𝕿𝖜𝖔 𝕿𝖗𝖚𝖙𝖍𝖘 𝕬𝖓𝖉 𝕬 𝕷𝖎𝖊

After leaving Hannibal's place, Will went straight to the FBI building as Jack had requested him. He wasn't 100% sure why his boss had so urgently needed his presence, but he still went in anyway.

He found Jack in his office, his desk covered in pictures, that Will hadn't payed any attention to. He sat in his usual spot as Jack started the conversation.

"Were you with Hannibal last night?" 

"Why is it suddenly important?"

Jack took a picture from his desk and handed it to Will before giving him some background information as to what he was looking at.

"There's another Ripper victim, and through the profile that has been made for the Ripper, we have reason to believe that it may be Hannibal himself,"

Will's eyes darted around the image and Hannibal's words echoed in his mind. Suddenly he felt sick to his stomach and rather clammy. Jack's voice sounded far away from him, like he was in a whole other room than Will.

Through a gap in the blinds to his right, Will couldn't help but feel as though he saw the lanky, antlered figure from previous hallucinations. The creature's gaze still burned into the back of his skull.

"So, I'll ask you again, were you with Hannibal last night?"

"I was."

Jack studied his temporary agent. Something was happening behind his eyes that wasn't due to the obvious sleep deprivation. He couldn't tell if he was lying about being with Hannibal, or if he knew something the rest of the team didn't.

Will felt like he was trying too hard to keep Hannibal's secret away from his boss' mind.

The idea of Hannibal being the Ripper was waning in Jack Crawford's mind, although he would still have to verify Will's alibi with Hannibal. But still something about the Ripper being right under his nose didn't feel far fetched to him, but he couldn't incarcerate someone on a prediction alone.

"What's up with your recent fascination with Hannibal being the Chesapeake Ripper?"

Jack didn't want to lie to Will, but he also didn't want to tell him the truth because Will and Hannibal were obviously together or very close, and he knew that he would report his findings back to Hannibal.

"Just a strange feeling I've had."

"What was the Ripper's profile like? And who did you get to do it?"

"Do you not remember doing his profile Will?"

Strangely enough, Will couldn't recall it at all. "No, not at all."

Jack sighed and looked at Will from across the desk. He could see that he was not mentally well at all, and he probably shouldn't have called him in, but this was important to an investigation and all of this would pay off, Jack thought to himself.

"Well, you said that the Ripper has a detailed knowledge of the human anatomy and that he thinks of his victims as pigs or prey, and hunts them in 'sounders'."

"How does this relate back to Hannibal?"

"He's had a record as a surgeon, and I'm not sure if you've noticed how Hannibal is about manners."

"The same could go for Dr. Chilton as well though."

Jack had never thought about this before, and was caught off guard when Will said that about the pompous, bigheaded and vain psychiatrist. Questioning him may bring better results, Jack said internally.

"You're right Will, thank you for coming in on such short notice."

"Not a problem." Even though, it was very much a problem.

Will turned and left the office and closed the door behind him.

Through all of this, Will had completely forgotten about his lecture he was meant to do today, and he really couldn't do much about it. He had nothing here and he couldn't blame anyone but himself for that, he shouldn't have stayed at Hannibal's last night.

Will sent Hannibal a message to let him know he was alive, and he just got caught up at work.

He didn't check for a reply until after his shift.

•~•~•~

Will went back to his house to check up on his dogs, feed them and be in their presence for a little while. He contemplated staying here for the night, and giving Hannibal a call or a text to inform him of his whereabouts.

Then Jack's questions flashed into his mind. What if Hannibal somehow gets caught in the span of a day or two? Who will be his alibi?

Winston looked up at Will with his happy gaze as he rested his head onto his lap, blissfully unaware of the events happening mentally to his owner.

Will smiled down at the dog, and scratched him behind his fluffy ears, a sense of mental calmness flooding his senses. His dogs didn't have to do much to give him a much needed jolt of serotonin.

He sighed, messaged Hannibal and went to have a shower, apologizing to Winston and the other dogs for disturbing them.

Hannibal couldn't help but miss Will slightly. He knew it was good that he went home to his dogs for a piece of solitude, but not having the feeling of another body in his bed and watching the rising and falling of their chest felt odd, even if they had only been together for 2 days.

He found himself dining alone and sketching alone at his desk after clearing his plate and doing the dishes. 

•~•~•~

Will had some sort of premonition as he lay in bed. All he saw was a room, with a plexiglass wall with holes nearing the top and bottom. There were bookshelves full of books, a stretcher-like bed and a solid wooden desk to the far left of the room.

It felt like a zoo enclosure more than a room.

But the most jarring thing about it all was that it wasn't himself or Dr. Chilton in there.

It was Hannibal.

He hoped this prediction wouldn't come true, as he wouldn't be able to bear seeing Hannibal pacing the room like a caged animal, occassionally reading or drawing. He couldn't wait and watch this happen, because he had a feeling that it eventually would. Jack would eventually find out Hannibal's secret and he would be locked away, or given the lethal injection.

Will felt as though he needed to do something about it because he didn't want to see Hannibal captured or even worse, dead.

He wasn't going to let that happen, not on his watch anyway.


	13. 𝕳𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝖂𝖊 𝕭𝖊𝖊𝖓 𝕾𝖆𝖛𝖊𝖉?

Will still couldn't grasp the concept that he somehow forgot that he did a profile for the Chesapeake Ripper. Maybe he couldn't remember it because he knew who was behind it, or maybe there was a bigger thing going on behind his eyes?

At this current stage he didn't want to know. 

As he lay in bed, wondering about everything that could be wrong with him, there was a knock at the front door which surprisingly the dogs didn't react to. The drawn curtains didn't allow Will to see out of them, so he got out of bed and opened the door, the dogs curling around his ankles. 

The figure at the door turned out to be the looming antlered creature with the piercing blue eyes. It offered for Will to follow, and he did without a second thought. There was a thin layer of snow on the ground, which crunched slightly under his bare feet as he and the creature headed towards the treeline. He could see his breath disperse into the air around him and he had no words for how he felt. 

The emotion he felt was an off-putting mix of fear and somehow nostalgia or safety, as though he trusted his antlered guide to lead him to a path with no harm. 

The early morning scenes of Wolf Trap reminded him why he moved here to this point of almost total isolation. The birds in the trees, the radiant skies and the eerie majesty of the occasional bare tree among the evergreens was a beauty that could not be faked. Will forgot about the cold as he watched his surroundings and made sure that the creature was still ahead of him.

On further investigation it appeared the creature who was leading him further and further away from his house had no visible breath. As if it didn't need to breathe, or it was already as cold as the air around it. A shudder down his spine felt like ice water rolling down his back. 

In a clearing in the middle of the forest, it turned to him and held out its hand with spindly and bony fingers.

Will placed his hand atop the creatures and it vanished into a thick and choking smoke that felt like fingers forcefully entering his mouth, eye sockets and ears. 

He fell to the floor, kneeling in the snow and trying so violently to keep the intrusive smoke away by hiding his face in his hands and slapping his face lightly to try and snap himself out of it. After a while, he knelt there and just cried hopelessly. 

"Will?"

It was Hannibal, looking down at the shaking mess with deep concern.

Will cast his gaze up to Hannibal. His eyes hurt and his shaky hands were soaked in tears, not to mention the fact he was freezing. Hannibal helped Will to his feet and held him, stroking his hair with closed eyes. 

Will listened to Hannibal's heartbeat as they both stood in the clearing until they let each other go and Hannibal gave Will his elegant, plaid suit jacket to wear for the trek home. It was warm and slightly too big for him around the shoulders and arms. 

It was nice that Hannibal wouldn't ask Will any questions until he was ready to respond to them. 

The walk back to the house was longer than Will thought it would be and it included him desperately trying to give Hannibal his jacket back, as he looked cold, but he insisted that he was alright and that Will needed it more. 

The doctor couldn't help but feel that a breakdown to this extent was long overdue, and he felt as though he had been a catalyst because being in a relationship would change the balance of things as well. Maybe he should've kept his thoughts to himself and not burdened Will with more mentally damning images. 

Back inside the house, Will had a warm shower and got dressed as Hannibal waited in the living room and bonded with the dogs. They all liked Hannibal, but as soon as Will walked back into the room they swarmed over to him, leaving Hannibal alone on the beige recliner. 

Will sat down on the adjacent couch and looked at Hannibal. He didn't know if he wanted to tell Hannibal about his vision last night, even though he mentally told himself before this point that he would.

"So Will, what happened this morning?"

"I.. broke, mentally of course." 

"Do you remember ending up in the forest, Will?"

"Yes, I was led by a creature. It was like a human but off."

"How do you mean 'off'?"

"It..." Will trailed off when he looked at the chair Hannibal was sitting to find the figure staring into his thoughts.

"What do you see?" Hannibal uttered, the creature moving its mouth as though it was being puppeteered by Hannibal.

Will felt his hands begin to shake as the creature tilted its head with a look of amusement.

"It's back."

"What does it look like?"

"A man with antlers and ribs on display, elongated fingers and light-engulfingly dark skin." 

Will couldn't help the slight wobble in his voice as he described this creature out loud.

"Does it look like anyone you know?"

"It looks like you."

Hannibal felt oddly upset by that, he obviously shouldn't have, but he did. The warped vision of him could be due to his current place in Will's mind.

"What is it doing?"

"Staring. Looking into my soul."

"Can you close your eyes for me Will?"

Will obliged and closed his eyes and took some steady breaths and prayed to whoever was listening that when he opened his eyes again the creature would be gone. 

"Open them again when you're ready."

Opening his eyes, he looked at the spot where the creature sat and thankfully it was gone.

"It's gone." 

Will couldn't help but smile at Hannibal as he said that. Hannibal smiled back and the air felt calm and steady once again.

•~•~•~

Far away, Jack Crawford was busy interviewing Dr. Frederick Chilton.

He fitted the profile, and was being rather defensive about everything that Jack was asking of him, which was sending red flags off in his mind.

"You've just caught me at- at a bad time Agent Crawford, that's all." He stuttered with a nervous chuckle.

"You're becoming quite the suspect now Chilton, considering the way you're acting."

Chilton gulped and knew that knew that he was practically digging himself into a deeper hole than he started with.

He wished he could be on a vacation in Jamaica, basking in the sun without a care in the world. None of this would be his problem and the only thing he would have to worry about would be his sandal breaking as he walked along the beach.

"We have a search warrant put in place for your house. We'll use it if you wont cooperate with us."

Chilton let out a sigh, refusing to look Jack Crawford in the eyes. He fiddled with a pen on his desk before answering Jack. He gathered his internal strength and said back;

"Go ahead, search my house. You won't find anything."

The sudden stab of defiance into the conversation had Jack second guessing himself, but still, he decided that he and the FBI would search the doctors home. Chilton felt a part of his smothered ego relight itself as he lightly taunted Jack Crawford. He knew that he shouldn't, but it felt good that he did.

"Okay, we will then."

It was at that moment, Chilton knew, he fucked up. 

Jack Crawford left the Baltimore Hospital for the Criminally Insane with that strange feeling of knowing you're going to be right about something.

Opening the door on Chilton's house, the first thing you noticed was the impeccable shine that everything gave off under the evening sun. Just walking into here made Jack feel like he'd crossed into a page out of a minimalist home design magazine. He really wasn't expecting to find much at all. 

The upstairs was normal and obviously tidy, and the same went for the kitchen and dining room.

The laundry was a whole new story, and it made Jack jump ever so slightly.

"I need EMT to the Chilton household."

There was an obvious trail of blood leading down the basement stairs. It looked like it hadn't been there for long, as it hadn't turned a coppery red yet. There was such a stark contrast between the crimson shade of red and the pristine white carpet that you would only normally see on a before and after picture of a carpet cleaner advertisment.

As Jack followed the trail down the steps, it became more apparent that whoever spilt all that blood had a more than likely chance of being dead from the loss of said blood.

There was a bloodied hand print on the door in the basement which Jack tried to avoid as he pushed it open.

Splayed in the center of the room was a man. A man with a wound stretching from his Adam's apple right down to the center of his chest. He was bent backwards and held down via his wrists with what looked to be his veins braided into a rope with pegs sunken into the floor.

Hidden in the chest cavity where the heart and lungs should be, was a bible, opened to a page with a quote; a quote which read as follows. 'For it is time that judgment must begin in the house of God.(1 Peter 4:17)' Jack knew this was what the killer wanted him to read because it was circled in the victims own blood.

He felt as though he had finally found the Chesapeake Ripper and his reign of terror would be over. The sad irony of this would be that Chilton would spend the rest of his days imprisoned in the very hospital he used to run.

Fingerprints showed that this was indeed Chilton's doing, but when he was questioned he seemingly had no recollection of the events in his basement. 

When he heard the news, Hannibal thought to himself how amazing the human brain is, and what people will do when you anonymously threaten the loss of their own life unless they meet your demands.

Quid Pro Quo, or a favour for a favour.

He also knew while Jack chased his own tail it would be a good time to execute his meticulously thought out plan. 

A plan that involved Will Graham.


	14. 𝕬 𝕲𝖆𝖒𝖊 𝕺𝖋 𝕮𝖆𝖙 𝕬𝖓𝖉 𝕸𝖔𝖚𝖘𝖊

"Did you go to Chilton's last night, Hannibal?"

"Yes, because I felt as though he needed to get what was coming to him eventually."

"But does he deserve to spend the rest of his life in prison?"

"Well, I was imagining that he would get the lethal injection, but that works too."

Will sighed heavily and looked into Hannibal's eyes. He knew why he'd done this.

He only did it because Jack was getting dangerously close to finding out who the actual Chesapeake Ripper was. Hannibal knew that Will knew his reasoning for killing and mutilating the latest victim by proxy. He couldn't help but feel unsettled by that.

The fact that he could get captured and rot away in wherever they'd put him, unable to properly be with Will ever again scared him for reasons unknown.

And it wasn't often that Hannibal Lecter felt scared.

•~•~•~

Dr. Chilton was escorted to the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane in complete and utter silence. Oh, the sad humiliation he felt in his chest was really something else. He knew what he'd done, but in his mind it was classed as a warped act of self defense. He was only doing it so it wasn't him that had his heart and lungs stolen as he was tied to his basement floor with his own veins.

But how would that evidence hold up in court?

Jack should've interviewed Chilton sooner, he thought to himself as he made his way to the Hospital. He internally debated inviting Will over to the untimely resignation of Dr. Chilton. He decided that he should, so he called Will and asked him to get down to the Hospital as soon as he could.

He begrudgingly went.

Jack met him at the gates with a grin. "I think we've finally found the Ripper, Will."

"I wouldn't put all of my eggs in one basket, isn't this a little out of character for the Ripper to go out of his way to spread evidence all over the murder scene?"

Jack wanted to thank Will for planting his feet back onto the ground, but for some strange reason, he felt angered by Will's comment. He didn't say anything as they went into the Hospital.

There sat Chilton in an orange jumpsuit, encased in the two-way mirrored room, handcuffed to the desk. He looked deeply disturbed as he was questioned by an FBI agent.

"He's admitted to this murder, and this murder only."

"Maybe because it's the only one that he's ever done." Alana suggested from the left of Jack.

"Or he's manipulating you all."

Dr. Bloom looked over at Will with a look of displeasure, mixed with a hint of interest with what he had to say next.

"Dr. Chilton is obviously clued up on how the brain works, so he could potentially be using this knowledge to cover up the things that he's done in the past."

"That's a strong allegation to make Will."

"I know, that's why I'm making it."

Chilton hardly talked, and Will knew that this investigation would last forever so he left. 

He felt obliged to tell Hannibal what Chiltom was doing, and what their next plan should be. Luckily for Will, Hannibal had already organized something within his brain he was getting ready to share.

When he returned to Wolf Trap, he found Hannibal petting his dogs and looking quite pleased with himself. He hated to break up such a nice little interaction.

"I'm scared that sooner or later Chilton is going to tell the FBI about your involvement in all of this."

Hannibal looked up at Will, a hint of despair showing in his eyes.

"Truth be told, I am too Will. I have made a plan for this though, if you are willing enough to hear it."

"What's your plan?"

"If you wanted to, we could run away tonight. Feed your dogs, leave a note for Alana and never see her or Jack again. Almost polite."

Will sat down beside Hannibal on the couch as he weighed up his options. He wanted to leave with Hannibal and create a new life elsewhere with him, but he couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for everyone he had back here.

This life surely wasn't the best for Will, but at least it had some sense of stability.

Hannibal held Will's hand and stroked the side of it with his thumb. "No matter what you decide Will, I'll stay with you."

He didn't want to see Will through a plexiglass cell wall, or through the bars of a prison cell. He hoped his lover had his best interests in mind. 

He selfishly hoped that Will would choose to run away with him.

"Its quite a forward thing, isn't it?"

"Well, forward things seem to be a reoccurring theme in our relationship then, don't they?" Hannibal said with a slight grin.

Will couldn't help but smile back at Hannibal, who for once in his life, seemed shorter than him from the angle of where he was sitting on the chair that gave Will the high ground.

"I guess you're right," Will reached out with his free hand to cup Hannibal's face.

"Should we keep the trend going?"

Hannibal leant his head into Will's hand, still looking up at him hopefully.

"It's your decision."

•~•~•~

After hopelessly trying to interview Chilton, Jack Crawford headed back to the FBI to see if the body that was found in Chilton's house had been identified. This display stuck with Jack for reasons unknown. Maybe it was because he felt as though he knew who the victims killer was.

Still, it was a hard image to shake from his brain. 

"What have we got?" Jack said as the walked into the morgue, Brian Zeller being the first one to offer up any information on the case.

"His name was Kyber Peterson, and he was a previous patient of Dr. Chilton's. He went to see the doctor for anger issues, that were apparent in his family."

"Do you think he made an enemy out of Chilton?"

"It's highly possible."

"Who's his next of kin?"

"His brother, Lloyd. He's currently being held by police in Delaware for illegal possession of firearms."

"Seems as though makes enemies runs through his family's genes."

"You could say that again."

•~•~•~

It was late, very late.

Hannibal was en route to pick up Will, who had just written Alana a note and stuck it to his own front door. He fed his dogs and hoped never to see anybody other than Hannibal again.

Just like Hannibal said, it was almost polite.

He didn't know where they were going but he hoped that it would be secure, and well hidden in the event of somebody finding them. 

As Hannibal arrived up the driveway, a sense of happiness filled his chest as he could see Will's silhouette shift around inside the house. When Will realised that Hannibal was there, he pet his dogs and headed for the door. 

He sure was going to miss his little family of strays.

Hannibal wound down the window. "Going my way?"

Will smiled and got into the passengers seat. It felt as though he was just going on a road trip or vacation, but he knew that deep down, he wouldn't come back to Wolf Trap or Baltimore ever again.

His mind thought back to the sunsets he enjoyed with his dogs and the small stream where he used to fly fish in during the hit summer days. He thought back to the first night he spent in his cozy little shack.

Now wasn't the time for sadness though, it was time to look forwards to the future and to the new beginning that was on the horizon for both Hannibal and himself.

A new beginning that would have both of them happy and uncaged.

A beginning that they could spend together for the rest of their lives.


	15. 𝕸𝖎𝖓𝖉 𝕻𝖆𝖑𝖆𝖈𝖊

Jack Crawford felt as though Chilton was withholding a large and important bank of information from the FBI. So, the next day, he decided to use some force to drill it out of him. He really didn't want to, but he would rather see Chilton look a little less nervous around everyone.

Dr. Frederick Chilton felt a pit in his stomach as he lay in his bed in the Baltimore State Hospital For The Criminally Insane. He couldn't help but feel that his fall from grace was inevitable, but he never would have imagined that his downfall would end him up incarcerated in the very hospital he used to run.

He also wouldn't have considered that Hannibal Lecter would be a part of his downfall either.

The disgraced doctor sighed as he was lead out to the interview room by an orderly. He watched through the plexiglass at the other patients that jeered at him. They all knew who Chilton was, and were beaming that he was no longer in charge of them.

This was the lowest point in his life and he knew it all too well.

He met with Jack in the interview room, locked down via handcuffs to the table. He thought that this was hardly civil and wondered why Jack was back. He thought he'd done quite a good job of keeping suspicions at bay.

"Is there anything you require from me, Agent Crawford?"

"Yes, there is actually. I require all of the information that you're withholding from me right now Dr. Chilton because you really wouldn't want to be charged with obstruction of justice and murder, now would you?"

"No, no I wouldn't."

"Good. The floor is yours."

Chilton sighed. Did he spill everything out for Jack and risk being killed by Hannibal later?

Yes, yes he would.

•~•~•~

Alana had called Will earlier on in the morning. When he never answered, she assumed that he was just sleeping late and she wouldn't have to worry, as he would give her a call when he woke up.

But as it got later in the day, she began to worry.

Jack let her off to go and find Will, so she started her journey from the mental hospital to the humble abode of her friend, Will Graham.

When she arrived at the shack, the dogs were still inside, so she found the spare key and let them out. She walked a little further into the house before looking for him.

"Will?" She asked into the seemingly empty house. There was no sign that anybody was here in the first place, besides the books and furnishings. His bed was neatly made and everything was where it should be. 

On further inspection some of Will's clothes were missing.

Walking back through the house, she spotted a note taped to the front door which she had casually walked past before.

As she read it, she became increasingly concerned.

Will and Hannibal had run away together, just as Chilton had told Jack of Hannibal's own involvement in the case at hand. 

She needed to get within the reach of cell service and call Jack Crawford as soon as she possibly could.

Alana pulled over as soon as she saw that she had reception and dialed Jack's number. Before he could speak, she was frantically telling him about what she found out during her trip to Will's house.

"Will and Hannibal have run away together, that's why he wasn't answering his phone and that's why he isn't here."

Jack didn't know what to say. For all he knew, Will could be dead and Hannibal could be eating his liver as they spoke.

"Did he say where he was going?" 

"No, he said that even he didn't know where he was headed."

Jack sighed heavily on the other end. He couldn't deal with this new stressor to add to his mental pile. He had to worry about Bella, Dr. Chilton and now Will.

"We'll organize a plan of action when you get here, right now I'm setting up a trial date for Dr. Chilton."

And with that, Jack hung up on Alana. She sat in her car on the roadside for about two minutes before making her way back to the hospital.

He whole journey back had her feeling more and more concerned about Will's wellbeing and she just hoped that he was okay even though Hannibal's involvement in the case could only be a ploy to take some of the weight off of Chilton's shoulders.

Alana didn't know what to think about anyone anymore.

•~•~•~

Hannibal and Will got to their getaway spot later on in the day. They had been driving for a while and they were both happy to get off the road.

The pair gazed at the ocean together as they stood atop the jagged cliff, holding each other's hands. They both felt comfortable.

"Shall we go make a toast?" 

"A toast to what?"

"Our new beginning."

"Sure."

The couple walked inside as Hannibal found a bottle of red wine, and grabbed two glasses from out of the cupboard. He poured it carefully before handing a glass to Will, who took it with a smile.

"To a brand new start."

"To a brand new start." Will repeated as they clinked their glasses together and took a sip as they stood together in the kitchen, Hannibal leaning against the bench with his left hand behind his back as he held his glass in the other.

Will couldn't help but wonder what was happening back in Baltimore with Chilton, Alana, Jack and the rest of the FBI. He wondered if Chilton had told them about Hannibal's involvement and he also couldn't help thinking about whether or not Jack believed him.

He took another sip of wine as he slightly dissociated from hus current surroundings.

"Is everything alright Will?" Hannibal studied his partner

"Yeah, just thinking."

"What about?"

"Everything back in Baltimore. Chilton, Alana."

Hannibal sighed and put his wine glass down on the bench. He walked over to Will, and held both of his hands, as he had also put down his wine glass.

"I know that this is easier said than done, but try not to think about it. That's all in the past now."

"How do you forget about all of this so easily?"

"Because I know that certain things will end up in my mind palace, which is the only thing that I will have when I am eventually captured. There's no point in trying to brush it off because I know that at some stage I am going to be imprisoned as a killer. Another statistic and another lost cause."

"What's in your mind palace, Hannibal?"

"The foyer is the Norman Chapel in Palermo, severe and beautiful and timeless with a single reminder of morality in the skull graven into the floor. The mind palace I have created is vast, even by medieval standards. There's something in there to remind me of everyone I have ever held dear."

"What's in there for me?"

Hannibal smiled at Will. "I knew you'd ask that," 

Will smiled back, looking up at Hannibal.

"You always remind me of the best of myself. For you, its difficult to pinpoint just one or two rooms, there's my kitchen and dining room, but also your house with all your dogs. The rooms for you just remind me of a safe and homely feeling, something that I hardly felt before you came into my life,"

Hannibal pulled Will in for a hug, and rested his head atop his partner's.

"I can't thank you enough for the emotions you've given me, Will, and there's no possible way that I could ever repay you."

"You're welcome Hannibal. I know how that feels too."

They stayed holding each other in the kitchen for a little while before letting one another go and returning to their wine.

As Hannibal held the wine bottle for a refil, a bullet shot through the window, shattering the glass and going through Hannibal's abdomen.

Will felt his heart drop.

The bullet fired from a pistol with a silencer on it, the pistol belonging to none other than Lloyd Peterson, Kyber's brother.

He brandished the weapon with power, aiming it at Hannibal.

"You were the bastard that murdered my brother, and you haven't even owned it."

He then aimed it at Will, who tried to back away. "Don't run, I'll catch you."

"Hello Lloyd," Hannibal said breathlessly as he clutched his wound on the floor. "You were a patient of mine, many moons ago weren't you? It's nice to see you're taking steps to overcoming your confidence issues, such as tracking down those who you feel have done you wrong. I heard that you killed those police officers, and I must say, it sounds like you did an excellent job with them."

"I'm going to do exactly what I did to them to you, Dr. Lecter. And then I'll tell the whole world of your demise, but it will never be as grand as doing the act itself."

Hannibal looked up at Will and hoped that he would do something.

Will reached into his holster to get out his gun, but was suddenly attacked by Lloyd by getting stabbed in the face. Lloyd lifted Will up via the blade in his cheek. Hannibal could only watch as Will writhed in agony.

He was then thrown out the broken window, landing onto the concrete outside, being followed closely by Lloyd. The knife was still in Will's cheek and he used it to his advantage. He pulled it out and stabbed it into his attackers thigh, who cried out in pain as it went through the skin.

It was ripped out once again and plunged into the front of Will's shoulder before Hannibal jumped up and latched himself onto Lloyd's back and tried to break his neck. Hannibal was quickly thrown off, and he rolled away and landed sharply on a nearby rock.

As Will saw the attacker walk towards Hannibal, he toom the knife from his shoulder and got up to stab him as Hannibal stood up and began to grapple with him. The grappling turned into Hannibal being choked with a blood soaked Will running up behind Lloyd and stabbing him twice in the back before being punched across the face and falling backward.

Lloyd pushed Hannibal to the floor, where he picked up an axe and slashed the offenders leg, just below the knee. Will got up and together the pair were cutting into the attacker to take him down.

As he tried to bring himself to his feet once again, Hannibal jumped onto his back and Will made a final slash into his skin as Hannibal bit out a portion of the man's throat.

Lloyd was bleeding out and he fell to his knees in an almost religious spectacle. It seemed as though he was praying for his sins to be washed away as the blood pooled around him.

Will and Hannibal both got to their feet with the help of a nearby table and Will looked at his blood covered arms as he fell back slightly to his knees. Hannibal was standing nearby.

"It really does look black in the moonlight."

Hannibal helped Will to his feet and pulled him closer.

"See, this is all I ever wanted for you Will... for both of us."

The pair tried to catch their breath as they held each other.

"It's beautiful."

They then kissed despite the fact that Will's mouth was full of blood, and held each other for a little longer before Will wrapped his arm around the crook of Hannibal neck and pulled him off of the nearby cliff.

The only thought that Hannibal had as they fell was the thought of finally showing Will his world, everything that he'd wanted to introduce him to.

He knew this was the man that he loved, and he would do this all over again without hesitation.

He honestly thought he was going to die in Will's arms, and he was perfectly fine with that.


	16. 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕺𝖈𝖊𝖆𝖓

Falling was a strange feeling for Will, which he soon forgot about as he hit the freezing water at the bottom of the cliff.

He didn't notice until later, but Hannibal had positioned himself to take most of the damage from the fall.

His various wounds stung from the salt water as they both used each other as a flotation device as the water around them turned a pinkish colour from all of the blood that was coming from their skin and their clothes.

"What now?" Will asked, his cheek in absolute agony as he treaded water. The gash letting in copious amounts of salt water which was bitter and attacked his tastebuds.

"We go to the boat."

"What boat?"

Hannibal briefly pointed to a decently sized sailboat that resembled Will's own, that was a little bit away from where they currently were, Will also noticed that it also had a motor on it. They both began to swim over, Hannibal with excellent form and Will with a decent swimming ability trailing slightly behind.

As Hannibal pulled himself onto the boat, he helped Will in with a smile. They were both shivering like wet chihuahuas from the cold night air and the sea water.

"Think of a positive Will, at least I won't have to disinfect your wounds quite so much."

Entering the below deck area of the ship, Hannibal walked into the bathroom and took off his wet clothes and swapped them for a silk bathrobe after he dried himself off. He instructed Will to do the same before he started work on both of their wounds.

Hannibal tried to be delicate to Will as he gave him sutures in his face and disinfected his wounds, but it was harder than it looked. Will still hissed in pain, and was profusely comforted by Hannibal who assured him that it wouldn't hurt for much longer. He gave him little forehead kisses in an attempt to soothe him.

In a strange sense, it was comforting to Will that Hannibal would always be there to help him and keep him alive.

When he was bandaged up, Hannibal began working on his own wounds. Will could see that it was obviously hurting him, and he wanted to do something about it, but he didn't know what to do.

Without thinking, he leant over and kissed Hannibal on the cheek.

Hannibal looked up from tending to his wounds, obviously surprised by Will's gesture. He took his free hand and cupped Will's left cheek, making sure to avoid the side with sutures in it.

For a moment, all of the pain he felt became a little less intense.

"Thank you for that Will."

"You're welcome."

•~•~•~

Some hikers discovered a body in a clearing by a house in the early hours of the following morning, and Jack Crawford was notified almost instantly.

Since he didn't have his main profiler, he was sort of lost and he missed Will's company at the crime scene. He just hoped that both he and Hannibal were safe, wherever they were right now.

Beverly Katz was assessing the scene, and she was drawn to the victim in the centre of the crime scene, probably because of the multiple gouges in his flesh and the missing piece of flesh on his neck.

"Jack, come look at this." Beverly called as Jack walked over. "The vic was slashed and part of his flesh was cannibalized. An animal wouldn't leave a bite mark like that."

Zeller appeared from inside the house with two wine glasses, one of which had a small amount of wine in it. "We can fingerprint these obviously."

Jack nodded.

He stepped into the house and looked around for any other clues. There was a pool of blood on the floor and some smaller droplets on the floor. There was a trail of blood leading out of the window, like the person who was bleeding was thrown. 

"Do you think we can test the blood?" 

"Yeah, there's enough here to identify the victim and attacker three times over."

"Good."

There was a knife laying on the ground, along with a bloodstained axe. This could also be used for fingerprinting purposes to get a better idea of what went down here.

Searching the area, Beverly came across a discovery that she wished she didn't.

"Jack, it's Hannibal's car with Will's bag in the back of it."

Jack came rushing over and he felt a pit in his stomach.

Maybe Will wasn't so safe after all.

•~•~•~

Bedelia Du Maurier knew that Will would run back to his beloved Hannibal sooner or later. She didn't count on it being quite so soon though.

She felt as though something was up when he missed appointment after appointment, and she assumed that he had resumed his mentally damning therapy with Dr. Hannibal Lecter.

She also knew something was up when Jack Crawford from the Baltimore branch of the FBI knocked on her front door asking if she knew where Hannibal and Will were.

"Don't you have anybody better to ask?"

"Well, I thought we could start with you. You've been both Hannibal and Will's therapist, isn't that correct?"

"Yes, but alas, the walls of doctor-patient confidentiality shouldn't be broken under any circumstances."

Jack ignored this remark.

"We have reason to believe Hannibal has gone away with Will, do you have any ideas as to where he would take him?"

Bedelia now had a choice. She could lie, and watch an FBI agent chase his tail for a few weeks, she could tell the truth or she could restate the importance of doctor-patient confidentiality.

She weighed up her options before speaking again.

"Hannibal did say that he wanted to show Will Italy once or twice.Something about the Norman Chapel in Palermo kept coming up in his sessions with me, and I knew that if Will ever confessed his love for Hannibal, that's where they'd go together."

The psychiatrist lied through her teeth. Hannibal wanted to show Will Cuba and he made that very clear that some day he was going to take Will somewhere he'd never been before, and potentially live there.

Jack sighed lightly because as far as he could tell, she was telling him the truth, and that's what he went with.

As he headed back to the FBI, he thought about his time in Italy, which was spent walking the streets with Bella. He missed his wife and he knew something was up, he just didn't know how to approach the subject.

Sometimes he wished he saw Dr. Lecter, because he seemed like a good therapist until he ran away with Will and could potentially be a killer. He just didn't know what to think anymore, and the future scared him.

The forensics team at the FBI were anxiously awaiting Jack's arrival with a treasure trove of new information that could set Chilton free, or punish him harder.

Jack walked through the door and had at least three people talking to him at once.

"Everybody calm down!"

The whole group of babbling investigators closed their mouths.

"Beverly, do you want to fill me in on the current findings?"

She nodded before continuing.

"So obviously there were three different people here at the crime scene on the night of the murder. One of which was Lloyd Peterson, who killed three police officers prior to this. He came down from Delaware and found the other two, who at this point are estimated to be Will and Hannibal when a fight broke out. It seems like Hannibal was shot, then Will was stabbed and thrown outside before the victim, Lloyd, met his end at the hands of Hannibal and Will."

"So where did they go?"

"We're not sure, but we did find some of Will's blood by the cliff which could indicate that-" 

"Hannibal threw him off?"

"Yes."


	17. 𝕷𝖎𝖐𝖊 𝖆 𝕯𝖔𝖌 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖘𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕴𝖙𝖘 𝕿𝖆𝖎𝖑

After the enlightening interview with Bedelia, Jack decided to head back to the FBI to check in with the forensics team.

He had hardly slept for a couple of days because of everything going on around him.

Thinking about the Hannibal and Will situation scared him the most. Although he didn't care that they were together, the idea of Hannibal throwing his partner off of the cliff felt as though it could be possible.

Opening the door of his car, he sighed. His hand lingered on the door as he closed it, with a small pang of an uncertain emotion in his chest as he thought of Will.

He headed into the expansive building in front of him. 

"Jack," Beverly called when he finally got to the forensics station. She walked up to him and handed him the lab report. 

"The blood samples show that both Hannibal and Will went off of the cliff, so we've sent a dive team down to the scene."

"Why do you look so concerned though?"

"The lab report also showed that Hannibal and Will killed Lloyd. Hannibal's now a suspect in the Ripper case, but we can't trial him because we don't know what happened to him after the fall."

"We are still trialing Dr. Chilton, is that correct?"

"Based on the evidence, yes."

"Good."

After this, Jack Crawford went back up to his office and reviewed the documents he took on Bedelia's statement.

He needed to get into contact with the police in Italy and make sure they were keeping a lookout for the two missing murderers.

Bedelia on the other hand, was feeling rather chuffed.

She knew that Hannibal had been chomping at the bit to have a chance of freedom with Will.

She poured herself a glass of wine, her bag packed with clothes and other household items that she would need to take with her when she left Baltimore for good. 

The psychiatrist knew all too well that Jack Crawford would see this as being suspicious, but she couldn't care about his investigation into her personal life, and the lives of her ex-patients.

She knew about the situation with Jack's wife and she felt sorry for the both of them, but she knew that the feeling would pass when she watched Hannibal and Will get dragged away from one another and thrown in a mental hospital until they curled up and died.

It was during times like these that Bedelia was glad she wasn't as much of an empath as Will Graham.

She then cast her mind back to the murderous lovers, who were headed to Cuba as she thought with her glass of red wine. Bedelia knew Hannibal all too well. 

The longest he would stay anywhere would be roughly three years, just long enough for the media coverage on him to cool down and his image to become blurred in everyone's minds. 

It also gave him a chance to reinvent himself and meticulously plan the next travel destination. He needed everything to be precise, so he had to imagine every scenario possible and prepare for the worst.

Even if that meant moving along with an empty plane seat beside him.

•~•~•~ Two Years Later •~•~•~

It was too cold outside to do anything, so Hannibal and Will lay together by the heater in their appartment. 

They eventually ended up in Switzerland together, in a towering apartment block with very little greenery. They got here after staying in Cuba for five months and using the ID's off of people that they'd killed. 

They took a plane into Germany, and then took a connecting flight to Switzerland and they stayed there since.

They'd hardly killed anyone in their stay.

Hannibal let his hair grow out and it was long enough to just touch the collar of his shirt and he had also dyed it slightly darker. 

The only thing that really changed about Will, though, was both his dress-sense and the fact that his hair was slightly longer and he was clean shaven.

The worldwide press had stopped reporting on their disappearance, many believed that they'd died after the fall and that their bodies had either sunk to the ocean floor to be eaten by various fish or ended up on a beach far away on some random deserted island.

Only the diehard conspiracy theorists thought they were still alive and killing.

Dr. Frederick Chilton was charged with obstruction of justice and murder in the first degree of Kyber Peterson. He was serving a life sentence in the Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane, which was now being run by Dr. Alana Bloom. He tried for an insanity plea, that was somehow granted, which let him get off lighter than he would've if he was clinically sane.

Despite Switzerland's closeness to Italy, Hannibal and Will never went there for obvious reasons, even though Hannibal thought that the heat surrounding their names had faded and they've changed their appearances a fair amount, not to mention the fact they both have totally different lives now could let him show Will the most beautiful places on the face of the earth.

But he did have a backup plan, as he often did.

Will was resting his head on Hannibal's chest, listening to his heartbeat, when he felt his resting place shift slightly. Will sat up and gazed at Hannibal. He just had the feeling that he was going to say something.

"How would you feel if I told you that I was taking you on a trip?"

"I'd start off by asking where we were headed."

Hannibal smiled. "What if I said that it was a surprise?"

Will couldn't help but smile back. "I.. don't know, I guess I'd let you show me where we were going. I think I should be able to trust you enough to find an appropriate travel destination."

"That settled that then. We'll be leaving tomorrow."

Will studied Hannibal's beady eyes, a smile still on his face. He chuckled. "What have you planned, Dr. Lecter?"

"You'll find out when I want you to find out."


	18. 𝕸𝖔𝖓𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗

The next morning when Will awoke, he heard Hannibal moving around the apartment. He was trying to be as quiet as possible because he knew that Will got hardly any sleep last night and he knew that Will would try to replace sleeping with copious amounts of caffeine which wouldn't do anyone any favours. 

Still, he made coffee in the mornings for both Will and himself, because he knew that caffeine withdrawal symptoms would be the last thing Will would need.

He could clearly see that his lover was becoming less stable by the day, and he really didn't know how to weave the subject into a regular conversation. 

Hannibal wanted to be Will's lover, but his inner psychiatrist told him to keep an eye on him. After all he was muttering and sobbing in his sleep last night, and if that didn't warrant concern, the doctor didn't know what would.

In the other room, Will shifted so that he was sitting upright in the dark room as he came to terms with the waking world around him. 

There was a small amount of light seeping under the heavy curtain to the right of the room, illuminating the laminate wood floor surrounding the window ever-so-slightly. 

The apartment was warm, and so were the blankets around the lower half of his body. He honestly could've stayed there forever.

He heard Hannibal's oddly light footsteps coming down the hallway from the kitchen. He somehow knew that he would be checking on him. 

He smiled when he noticed that Will was awake.

"Good morning, Will. There's coffee in the kitchen if you'd like some."

"Thank you, Hannibal."

After Hannibal had ducked away, Will swung his legs out from under the blankets and let his bare feet touch the cold wooden flooring. It took him by surprise, but still he stood up and draped himself in his silk bathrobe before heading to the kitchen.

He heard the sliding door close and looked outside.

Hannibal was sitting on the balcony, looking out at the small green park surrounded by other apartment complexes and concrete, with a cigarette. The smoke enveloped him and he was practically dressed for the day and he had a little bit of hair tucked behind his left ear. 

The sliding door was closed to keep the inside of the apartment, and Will, warm. The wind was bitter and harsh, but it would've been perfect on a hot summer's day, Hannibal thought to himself as he stubbed out the cigarette in a glass ashtray before heading inside.

He found Will sitting at the dining room table with a cup of coffee in his hands, who looked up when he heard the sliding door open and close again. It squeaked just loud enough for someone to notice it over the rumbling sound of the rollers.

Hannibal took a cup of coffee from off of the bench and sat across the table from Will. He was just thinking about the fact that he hadn't made breakfast yet, and as he thought about it, he didn't even know what to prepare.

Will, on the other hand, completely forgot about breakfast and his only thought was on this surprise that Hannibal had brought up briefly. He thought that they were going somewhere because of the suitcase that Hannibal attempted to hide under his side of the table.

"So Hannibal, I've been meaning to ask you, where are we going for this so-called surprise that you've planned?"

"All good things take time, Will."

A thought raced through Will's mind and flew out of his mouth before he could water down what he was saying.

"Have you planned to ...kill me?"

Hannibal looked taken aback.

"I would never try and do that to you, I love you too much,"

Will was relieved, and he could tell that Hannibal was sincere because there was a strange softness in his maroon eyes.

"That does beg the question of whether or not you would attempt to kill me."

"I wouldn't dream of it. It would seem to be more a nightmare of mine to kill the one I love."

Hannibal studied Will's expression, which held an uneasy feeling.

"Riddle me this then, Will. If you were ever to kill me, how would you do so?"

"For starters, I would only kill you if I had to, as in quality of life over quantity,"

"Are you avoiding my question?"

"No, I was about to say that I would make your death ...comforting."

"How so?"

"I'm not sure. I would make sure that you knew I meant well as I did it."

Hannibal knew where Will was coming from and that he meant well. Deep down he knew that he would do ghe same if he was suffering, but he didn't know of he could bring himself to ever do something of that enormity. 

He had obviously killed people, but he only killed those who deserved it.

Will didn't deserve to die, in Hannibal's eyes at least.

•~•~•~

After their interesting conversation in the morning, Hannibal told Will to pack his bag with about 3 days worth of clothing.

Still, Will had no clue where he and Hannibal were headed.

The departure time for the bullet train loomed over Hannibal as Will packed his bag. They weren't far from the station, but Hannibal liked being perfectly on time.

When they finally arrived at the train station, Hannibal parked their car in the long-term parking lot before getting out and taking both his and Will's bags onto the train.

They took a seat by the window in a booth, despite the fact there wasn't much to see out of the speeding train's window anyways. It would take them a couple hours at least to get to Hannibal's preplanned destination.

"So, you're still keeping it a secret?"

"Of course. All good things come to those who wait."

"Really now? Can I at least guess where we're headed?"

"I never stopped you before."

Will sat and thought, listening to the steady hum of the train as it hurtled away from Zürich. He knew they wouldn't be going to Italy, they were going the wrong direction.

He thought about Hannibal as a person, and after a couple minutes silence, Will gazed up at Hannibal with a smile slowly spreading across his face.

"... Are we headed to France?"

After being found out, Hannibal sighed.

"I was wondering how long it was going to take you to figure it out. Just because you know where we're going doesn't mean you know the itinerary."

Will sighed, a look of content on his face.

After being on the bullet train for an hour, Hannibal and Will ended up at their hotel. The reception room was small, with an elevator that could only fit two people at the maximum plastered on the far wall.

They took their keys off of the receptionist and headed to their room. It overlooked Paris with a view of the Eiffel Tower as the sun began to slink away, turning light into darkness. Hannibal turned on the light and there was a king-sized bed in the center of the room; it all felt very homely.

Will placed his bag down with a sigh and looked over at Hannibal with a pleased smile, which Hannibal returned.

"Did I do a good job at choosing a hotel for us, Will?"

"I was honestly questioning your judgment when we walked in here," he uttered with a chuckle before throwing himself backward onto the bed. "But it is pretty nice up here."

"I knew you'd like it."


	19. 𝕿𝖍𝖎𝖓𝖌𝖘 𝕳𝖆𝖛𝖊 𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖓𝖌𝖊𝖉

Hannibal and Will spent their first night in Paris checking out the sights under the cover of darkness, fingers interlocked as they strolled the streets. The Eiffel Tower lit up in a golden light, which gave it an ethereal atmosphere.

The life of murder, death and destruction that Hannibal had lead felt almost dream-like and distant as he watched Will's face light up when he smiled under the street lights.

They went on a cruise down the river Seine, looking at the ancient architecture which was illuminated in dim lights, giving the buildings a rich yet Gothic feel. 

The tourists and their cameras were living for the tales they could tell to their less fortunate acquaintances, but Hannibal and Will were living for each other and their own happiness tonight. They had dinner at the Alain Ducasse Au Plaza Athenée before heading back to their hotel room.

They both lay on the bed facing each other, their noses just centimetres away from touching. 

Will's face was hurting from how much he had been smiling.

"Tonight was amazing Hannibal."

"There may be another surprise for you tomorrow as well. If you're lucky."

Will could tell that Hannibal had enjoyed himself as well. The content gleam in his eyes gave it away and Will was surprised at how easily he could read Hannibal.

"I think you like being equivocal, don't you?"

"Well, it is nice to keep you on your toes every now and again."

Will closed the gap between the two with a passionate kiss.

•~•~•~

Worlds away in Baltimore, Jack Crawford and the rest of the FBI officers were busy with paperwork, until a tip came through via a near untraceable phone call. The husky-voiced caller only uttered three words before hanging up.

"They're in Paris."

Listening back, Jack discovered that the caller was Bedelia, but he wasn't even sure where she was. The day after their interview she fled the country and everyone had assumed that she had met up with Hannibal and Will. 

Either way, it still made her a suspect in the case that the FBI were holding against Hannibal. He also thought about the fact that she could be lying like she did when the pair left two years ago. Still, the call remained circulating through his mind.

It never crossed Jack's mind often, but occasionally he remembered that he dined at Hannibal's with his wife before she died. 

He also thought about the potential that he could've been feeding them human meat as well.

No matter how hard he tried he couldn't shake the eerie feeling that washed over him when he had those thoughts. 

Hannibal's civility was almost unhuman when he thought back to those days of being in the cobalt blue dining room with a glass of blood red wine.

He also found himself thinking about how Hannibal could've mentioned the fact he was a cannibal and he could've just brushed it off as a joke.

He often found himself missing Hannibal's friendship in an odd way.

"Jack? Is now a good time?"

It was Beverly Katz, leaning in the doorway to her boss' office.

"Katz, no, it's not. What have you got for me?"

"So the call was from Bedelia Du Maurier, and has been traced back to a payphone outside Hôtel Liberty. The techies seem to think that either Hannibal and Will or Bedelia are staying there."

They probably wouldn't be able to trace either Hannibal, Will or Bedelia to staying in that hotel, as they obviously would've assumed new identities in order to escape their past lives. Stil, he didn't want to seem ungrateful, as Beverly was trying her best to find out new things to help relieve a pang of guilt that had sat on the shoulders of anyone who had ever worked with either Hannibal or Will.

"Well, its the best lead we've had in two years. Thank you Katz."

"No problem, Jack."

As Beverly left and closed the door behind her, Jack held his head in his hands and sighed. 

He honestly didn't think he would ever run into Hannibal or Will ever again, but here he was, on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean beginning what felt to be another wild goose chase with the light at the end of the tunnel being the capture of two highly dangerous men.

One thought remained in his mind as he sat in the quiet office.

Why was Bedelia only speaking up about the murder duo's location now?

Even if she had been following them for two years, she would've had ample opportunities to call in from a payphone.

That is unless, she knew of somebody that was after them, and being sentenced to death would be a better end that whatever this mystery pursuer has in their mind for them.

He burst into the main office to speak to Beverly about his sudden epiphany.

"What if she thinks or knows that something is going to happen to them?"

"Like what?"

"What if they're being chased or sold to someone, and she wants to prevent it from happening?"

"Sounds like a bit of a stretch, Jack, but it doesn't seem that far fetched considering we traced a payphone call to outside a hotel in the middle of Paris."

He watched a spark behind her eyes light up, and he could tell she was motivated to prove Jack's theory right or wrong. All Katz really needed sometimes was a gentle nudge in the right direction, and then she was well on her way to find out anything she could to help and solve a case.

It's the little things that reminded Jack why he loved his co workers. The jokes, the sympathy they showed, and above all else, their motivation and professionalism that kicked in when it was needed the most.

He really couldn't have asked for a better team.


	20. 𝕴𝖓 𝕬𝖓𝖔𝖙𝖍𝖊𝖗 𝕷𝖎𝖋𝖊

Hannibal had a strange habit of waking up before Will, but he liked it that way.

He liked being able to see Will completely undisturbed by intrusive thoughts and he liked to watch the gentle rising and falling of his chest that was hidden beneath the sheets.

It was somewhat poetic that he had finally found the man he loved more than anything else in the world. Hannibal gazed lovingly at the sleeping figure beside him and smiled. 

He would lay down his life for his lover if he had to.

It seemed as though everything in his life had lead up to this moment. All the hardships, all the blood and all the death had ended up with Hannibal and Will sharing a bed in a light and airy Paris morning.

He never felt like he fell into love; it was more of a walk. 

An almost calculated direction that he wished to go into, the only uncertainty was the question of whether or not Will would walk with him into the vast space classified as love. But he held his hand, and, excuse the pun, took a leap of faith with him. 

It was obvious that the pair loved each other well before Will openly admitted how he felt. Hannibal knew that even if Will never said anything they would still end up together, one way or another. 

Hannibal felt as though when Will finally noticed that they had begun to blur, he would say something. He would say something about the hunger of separation he experienced and the thoughts that he was experiencing that normally only Hannibal would think of. 

Well, that's what would've happened in Hannibal's mind anyway. 

As he looked upon Will's sleeping figure, he 'traced' the scar on his cheek with his eyes. It was fading, and was nowhere near as plump with scar tissue as it used to be. He did a good job with the sutures if he could say so himself. 

He often thought back to the night that they made their first kill together. Will was obviously a little shaken, which was understandable considering the fact he'd killed someone, but he told Hannibal about the strange adrenaline rush that he'd had. 

He told him that it felt oddly freeing, and that was all that Hannibal wanted to show Will. 

He felt as though there were a few new rooms in his ever-expanding memory palace. The boat they used to get to Cuba, their quaint little house in Cuba, their Swiss apartment, and finally, this small little hotel room. It was a nice place to just sit and reminisce about things past.

None of these places would hold the value that they did if Will wasn't there with him.

•~•~•~

Bedelia Du Maurier had been in Paris for the past two years after her escape from Baltimore.

She had what could only be described as an artists flat that overlooked the Paris skyline, it always smelt slightly of paint but she wasn't picky. 

It was a couple streets away from the hotel where Hannibal and Will were staying for a few nights.

She knew Hannibal all too well, and he wouldn't deny himself, so it only made sense that they would turn up here sooner or later. 

Her plan wasn't originally to stalk Hannibal and Will, telling Jack Crawford of the pairs whereabouts, but when an opportunity to have 15 minutes of fame pops up like this, its alluring and attracting to someone like Dr. Du Maurier.

She was content here in her high and mighty artists flat with a small feeling of power over the fact she knew where the two cannibals were spending their time. 

She didn't know where they'd come from though, and she was still trying to work that out.

Watching the sunset with a glass of wine in hand, the doctor looked out at the Eiffel Tower and smiled. Dhe was rather pleased with herself for no apparent reason. Everything that was happening just felt right.

There was only one problem she faced that she intended to drink away, and that was the thought of Hannibal or Will finding out about her little phone call to Jack Crawford.

She honestly feared for her life if she thought about it for too long.

She knew all too well that Hannibal could eat her liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti and not bat an eyelid.

She wondered if Will would mindlessly comply though.

•~•~•~

Back in Hannibal and Will's hotel, the sun was also sinking lower into the sky and they had just had dinner.

"Have you forgotten about your surprise for me, or are you holding me in suspense for a little longer."

"It's the latter, Will. Now, would you like to take a walk with me?"

A smile formed on Will's face. He couldn't ask any questions because Hannibal wouldn't answer them properly, he would just shrug them off.

"Of course I do Hannibal."

"Great! Now grab a coat, because it may get a little chilly."

Through all of this, Will couldn't help but wonder what his lover had in store for him. He wasn't worried though because he knew that Hannibal wouldn't intentionally hurt him, let alone kill him. He had a strong amount of trust in Hannibal.

The couple headed out the door, which Hannibal locked behind them before heading into the 'cozy' elevator at the end of the hallway. They didn't hold hands until they were out of the building.

Walking down the Parisian streets during the night made the city feel oddly nostalgic, like walking back into a place you never thought you'd see again, or finding something you'd lost and never realized hoe much it meant to you until you found it again.

They reached the Eiffel tower and Hannibal looked up at the grand display of engineering and smiled. "I take it you've never been at the very top, have you?"

"I haven't."

"Would you like to? It is a little bit of a trek I do have to admit."

"Of course, its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Okay then, lets go."

It took them about 25 minutes to get to the top and they both seemed as though the 1665 steps didn't bother them in the slightest.

Will was looking around in awe. It was just so beautiful up here watching all the lights twinkle and the cars bustle around the streets underneath the lights.

After letting Will gaze over the city for a few minutes, Hannibal took in a deep breath and called Will over to him.

"I have a question to ask you now, Will. I would preferably like your honest answer to this as well."

"I can't give you a precise answer if you don't ask me, Hannibal."

Getting down on one knee and pulling a small, elegant box from his pocket, Hannibal's hands shook ever-so-slightly.

"Will you marry me?"

The brunette felt like he was on the verge of crying on the floor with happiness. He would never have imagined that this is the way their trip would've played out.

He helped Hannibal to his feet, a smile spread across his face. He tucked some hair behind his partner's ear and pulled him in for a kiss.

"I wouldn't have stuck around with you if I didn't see a future. Things are looking a lot brighter now, and I'm happy to say that I'd love to spend the rest of my days with you, and only you, Hannibal Lecter."


	21. 𝕾𝖎𝖓𝖌 𝕸𝖊 𝕿𝖔 𝕾𝖑𝖊𝖊𝖕

Jack had most of the FBI sifting through the hotel's records from over the past two years. He was also looking through arrivals into nearby Switzerland applying for residency from over the same time-period. 

They looked through everything that they could to try and find any evidence at all of the pair of cannibals being in Europe. Crawford wanted to believe Bedelia, he really did, but he felt as though that he had been played yet again as they searched through the fragmented CCTV footage, flight numbers and residency visa applications from most of the countries across the Atlantic Sea.

Maybe her last interaction with him before she left could've been half correct after all, she could've just been off about a year or two. 

He also had certain people looking at records of strange murders in Switzerland and the surrounding countries. 

Finding records of murders in Switzerland was an interesting thing to try and find, as the country mainly had a problem with purse theft and pick pocketing instead of violent crimes. 

The Swiss and Italian police were cooperative with Crawford's efforts to catch two killers that could potentially running around amok in their countries, so they granted him and the FBI access to records that could be helpful. 

It took a little more persuasion to get the French police onto his side, but they eventually gave in to help the FBI look for Hannibal and Will.

It was probably days, but it felt more like weeks to Jack Crawford and his team before they found any meaningful evidence on the pairs whereabouts. 

It was glazed over the first few times that it was seen, but on further inspection, it was actually quite important.

There was a small clip on a security camera from inside a train station in Paris which featured two men, both with a bag of luggage each, walking beside one another. One of them was slightly taller than the other, with hair that just touched his shirt collar. 

The video was in black and white, so nobody could distinguish the color. 

The other had shorter hair, and looked behind him for a couple of seconds, revealing his facial features. The image had to be enhanced before it made any sense to anybody, because in Jack Crawford's eyes, this man was just another person in a sea of people. 

On further inspection it looked to be a clean shaven Will Graham, which was pretty much a unanimous agreement by everyone in the FBI that Jack showed the image to. 

The footage was only recent too, so now they had a definite lead that Will and potentially Hannibal were in Paris, and judging by the time that the train arrived at the station, they came from Switzerland. 

As soon as he found this out, he was immediately on the phone to both Switzerland and France's police departments. 

Over the next 12 hours, a warrant for Will's arrest was making it's rounds right around Europe. 

•~•~•~

Prior to the sudden arrest warrant there was a plan being made in a small building down the street from the hotel in which Hannibal and Will were staying in. 

There were four men, all of whom were born and raised in Paris who had a strange fascination with Hannibal and they only wanted to be names in a group as Caedes. 

They thought of Hannibal as being some kind of savior, like the patron saint of cannibalism or something. They wanted to see what made him work, but most of all, they wanted him to become their teacher. 

They wanted to watch his process of killing, they wanted to watch the bloodshed and they wanted to gaze upon the newly-finished work that he had created in front of their eyes. 

They wanted to continue his legacy of horror and murder because they intended to replace him as a God. 

They wanted to become the patron saints of cannibalism and murder because they felt as though Hannibal was having all of the fame and glory to himself and that it was time that the world had somebody else to fear.

In their twisted reality, Hannibal was both a God and a mere mortal. He was both unassailable and vulnerable. 

They already had the perfect bait to lure him down their path. 

Will Graham. 

Hannibal was hopelessly devoted to him, and they could use Will as a means to get him closer to their little group.

If they really wanted to, they could torture Will and use his suffering to bend Hannibal into submitting to their plan.

If you haven't picked it up yet, the Caedes were violent and weren't afraid to throw their weight around.

They'd tried doing robberies and a whole other assortment of crimes, but they found salvation in the life taking and bloodthirsty art of murder.

When they heard of the Chesapeake Ripper they worshipped him. When they found out about Hannibal potentially being the Ripper they had made an altar dedicated to all the articles they could get their hands on about the Ripper, and he turned from an ordinary serial killer into their savior.

They were obsessed with malicious intent, but they made sure that if he was slaughtered by them, no part of him would be wasted.

They intended to skin him, eat him and make his head into one of those wall-mounted trophies.

He would become art after his death, and the Caedes would become Gods, immortalised in the history books and in the press as the men who killed Hannibal Lecter.

They wanted to be idolized.

They wanted to be loved like nothing else on this earth.

But above all else, they wanted to be feared. They wanted to be the reason behind international panic and hysteria.

They would then be able to go down in a blaze of glory once their bodies were no longer capable of killing.

God-like might, power and fear were the only things these men ever wanted.


	22. 𝖂𝖎𝖓𝖊 𝖎𝖓 𝕻𝖆𝖗𝖎𝖘

Back in the hotel room, the newly engaged couple had a fair amount of wine and it was obvious they were at least partially drunk. 

The smiled and laughed over nothing for a little while, until it turned to a more romantic affair, which had been initiated by Will slurring something that may have seemed romantic at the time, and brushing some hair out of Hannibal's face. 

The kisses they shared only heightened the drunken air hanging around the couple. Their wine-soaked gasps for air between their dis-attached lips meshed together in the dimly lit hotel room. 

Skin to skin they lay as Will's fingertips read the scroll of Hannibal's spine. They almost felt consumed by one another, intertwined under the cover of darkness. 

The way that a candle's flame almost desires to eat away at the wick and the way that the wick wants to be wasted away by the flame to an imperfect harmony of their own creation could be a metaphor for Hannibal and Will. 

The things they felt together were mutual; like the feelings of yearning and passion would often sear their minds, and the only antidote was to act on those restrained feelings and rather interesting ideas of love. 

If passion was a place, then Hannibal and Will found it on that drunken and dark night. They found it together and made it brighter and they bathed in each other's afterglow. 

Of all of the art pieces and beautiful little things he'd ever seen in his lifetime, Hannibal's favorite sight to gaze upon was Will as he gave himself to him.

In a drunken haze, their time together felt unending.

The next morning, both of their hearts sank when they saw an article in the paper asking about the whereabouts of Will. They didn't realize about the warrant for his arrest hanging in the air.

•~•~•~

Down the street, the Caedes were overjoyed.

They could lure both Hannibal and the authorities to them, demanding various things from each of the parties they attracted.

Not to mention the extensive worldwide media coverage that would be circulating. They felt that this was the beginning of their ascendancy on the list of worshipped figures in the world.

They had a decent idea of where they were hiding out, and they intended to use their anonymity as an indestructible force to get what they wanted.

It was about mid day and the sky was overcast. There was a slight chill in the air, but it wasn't cold enough to wear a scarf and a hat.

The Caedes stuffed their veil-like cloth masks into the pockets of their forged cleaners uniforms and headed into their stolen van, which was parked in a dingy little garage beside their headquarters.

They knew that the pair would be in the apartment, as Hannibal would only take his partner out under the cover of darkness.

As they arrived at the front of the hotel, the receptionist let them all in and two of them went into the elevator located at the end of the room. They were the scouts. The other two went into the back of the van and brought a large plastic cleaners caddy and wheeled it into the building.

They then went up in the tight elevator.

The scouts had found the room, all they needed now was a way in. They tried knocking, which lead to nothing. One of them went down the elevator once more to retrive the keycard before they finally got into the room.

None of them questioned the validity of getting the keycard from the receptionist if the room was already booked, so they proceeded into the room, still holding the belief that Hannibal and Will were there.

They were obviously gone. The bed was neatly made and there was no evidence that anyone had been in here in the first place.

The only thing that remained was a leaflet that looked as though it had fallen down the side of the bed and been overlooked.

It was for a vineyard a little way into the countryside. 

It seemed like a desolate enough location for the two to escape to after finding out that your partner now has an arrest warrant on them, and they were actually kind of hoping that the couple weren't still here, they only really came here for informational purposes, but were ready to fight the pair if necessary.

Still, at least they knew where their next move was.

•~•~•~

Hannibal and Will arrived at the vineyard via hire car. There was hardly anybody in the entire place, as it was during the off season and the place that they were staying in was practically an air bed and breakfast.

It had the homely feeling of a cottage, but felt slightly off, like nobody had shared any meaningful experiences here in a long while. 

The doctor inhaled through his nose. He could faintly smell both red and white wines in the cellar, not to mention the smell of the sweetness of grapes and flowers in the gentle breeze.

If this place wasn't already owned, he would love to live out here with Will.

The pair took their bags inside and set them down by the door as they explored the rest of their temporary residence.

The kitchen still had a rather bright blue vinyl wallpaper with a strange shell-like pattern, so it obviously hadn't been updated since at least the 70's. The carpet in the living room was clean and in overall good condition, and the deep green lounge suite contrasted the "vintage" wallpaper well.

There was also a bay window with a reading nook that perfectly caught the sun in the late evening.

Upstairs were two bedrooms, one with an ensuite. The green and blue theme was continued upstairs, but on a less intense, pastel note. The rooms both had decently sized and well made beds.

On further inspection, Will found out that there was a hot water cylinder downstairs that made a slightly annoying noise. He hoped he could tune it out so he could enjoy this trip out here.

"We may have to shower together to conserve hot water." Hannibal said with a sly grin as he joined Will downstairs at the hot water cupboard.

Will, disregarding Hannibal's homoerotic comment, changed the subject.


	23. 𝕿𝖜𝖊𝖓𝖙𝖞 𝕿𝖜𝖔- 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝕴𝖒𝖕𝖊𝖗𝖒𝖆𝖓𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊 𝖔𝖋 𝕷𝖎𝖋𝖊

Will was half expecting to wake up with the sounds of a bustling city ringing in his ears, and was pleasantly surprised when he heard nothing but wind in the trees.

He could hear footsteps downstairs, and he knew it was Hannibal, a smile crept across his face as he heard the stairs creak.

They were both so blissfully happy here, and Will felt as though he didn't truthfully deserve to be in this near-heaven landscape with his lover.

All he really did was agree to run away with him. He never planned and he never really came up with ideas on his own. But now wasn't the time to beat himself up, he should be enjoying the time he has in the vineyards.

He rolled over to face the wall.

The footsteps from the steps got closer, and before long, they'd stopped. Will had expected there to be a weight on the other side of the bed, but it never came.

A clammy feeling encapsulated Will when he realised it wasn't Hannibal at the door of his room.

It was another man, dressed in an almost Gothic attire with a delicately thin veil that obscured his face.

It almost seemed as though he wasn't breathing at all.

•~•~•~

Hannibal wasn't even sure what had happened.

He'd gone downstairs and made a start on some coffee, when out of the blue everything went dark. 

When he woke up though, it was a totally different story.

He was tied to a chair, three men in hoods surrounding him. One of them had a gun in their hand, and watched him intently. They spoke not a word as they waited for their colleague to make a return.

Hannibal stayed silent, in the hopes that he didn't get shot. His mind began to race, what happened to Will? Was he okay? Was he hurt?

He would play along, until they let him go.

They had to let him go, right?

The group's fourth member joined them and they finally began to speak.

"Are you entertained, Dr. Lecter?" One of the taller ones uttered in a raspy manner.

"Quite. You did an excellent job at finding us both. I do have a grievance though, you never told me who you were."

"We are the Caedes." The one that appeared late uttered in a deep voice, which was filled with grandeur, like this little gathering was his pride and joy.

"That's Latin, isn't it? What's it for again... ah, that's right, murder and carnage."

He felt a pit in his stomach as the realisation hit. Maybe Will wasn't okay.

"Exactly, Dr. Lecter."

"Why have you gentlemen hunted me and my partner down on this fine April morning?"

"We want to drink from the fountain of your knowledge, Doctor."

"We want you to show us how to.. become something less than human, and find art in the death and bloodshed."

"I think you've misunderstood me. I only kill those who deserve it." 

"We understand that, we just want to learn how you present them, and how you serve them." 

"Anybody in the world could teach you that. I am a mere mirror of all of the artworks of the world, I am not the visionary, I only replicate." 

"We worship you, we are deeply devoted to you. We want to be reborn into your image." 

"The phoenix must burn before it rises again, still, it prepares to end. If you want to be created in my image, first, you must burn." 

"We will do anything you ask of us." 

Hannibal contemplated asking them to let him see Will, he really did, but he was afraid that it could put them both into a dangerous situation. He did want to see how far these men would go on listening to his instructions though. Maybe he could have fun with this.

"What's going to happen if I don't want to cooperate?" 

"Just wait and see. Maybe you'll be leaving this country with a vacant seat beside you."

"Well then, if you untie me, I'll help you."

He was now only doing this for Will, and Will alone. He needed to see him again.

"Come with us now." The raspy voiced figure said as Hannibal stood up. 

They went up the stairs that led from the wine cellar into the living room, and sitting there was a man and a woman. 

They both looked both tired and distraught as though they had tried to get out of the restraints that were holding their hands and feet together. The woman looked at Hannibal and became increasingly more concerned. 

"These two have wronged you. They're from the tabloids and have slandered your name. They're filthy, disgusting and rude animals."

Hannibal studied the pair. For a few seconds he weighed up his options. He couldn't let them go now; they'd seen him and knew who he was, but on the other hand, they were tabloid journalists and they did have an over-exaggerated idea on storytelling, so who would believe them even if they escaped? 

"Who shall we start with first?" 

Those words made the pair on the couch grow pale, and a cold band of perspiration formed on their foreheads. 

"The man, doctor, he is both a pig and a sinner."

"In what way is he sinner, aside from working for the tabloids?" 

"He commits infidelity with this woman. She knows his wife, and she knows his children. He is unjust and unclean. A filthy, piss-poor attempt at a man." 

Hannibal moved closer to the man and moved him from the couch to the floor, as he moved him, he could feel him shaking in terror. 

"You wouldn't happen to have a hunting knife on you, would you?" The doctor asked the Caedes, who had formed a circle around him. 

One of them reached into a pocket and pulled out a decently sized knife, and handed it handle-first to the man kneeling over the bound man on the floor. He thanked the veiled man and put it into his pocked for later. 

He snapped the man's neck, much to the horror of the woman on the couch, who heard the snap and saw nothing. He removed the gag, opened the newly-deceased's mouth and meticulously removed his tongue and eyes. 

He used the fabric gag almost as a kidney dish for the organs that he removed. 

By the time he was finished, the man had a crucifix carved into his chest, blood dripping from his eye sockets and was nailed to the cross on the exterior wall of a church in a small town about half an hour's drive from the vineyard. 

Throughout the whole experience the Caedes were in awe as they watched their idol mutilate and display a corpse. One of the members had to stay behind and watch Will, in case he "tried to escape". 

The woman had a different fate, she was still killed, but there was a slightly different tone with how he treated her after death. It seemed as though he was being more gentle with her than he was with the other victim. 

In the incisions to her neck and body, he placed flowers. She was splayed on the altar with closed eyes and a rosary wrapped around her hands, which were pressed together as though she was praying for redemption in her final moments. 

He took her lungs, heart and tongue. He wasn't even sure on what he was going to make with the organs he took. 

Still, he was doing this for Will, and he kept on hoping that he would be fine when he returned.

He needed his lover to be okay.


End file.
